Greger Lange
Greger Lange | |
|---|---|
 Greger Lange in 1869 | |
| Born | Greger Paul Lange 12 February 1809 |
| Died | 19 April 1882 (aged 73) Blåstad, Geatland |
| Nationality | Geatish |
| Occupation | Writer, historian, social theorist |
| Known for | |
| Spouse(s) | Hannah Brubick |
| Writing career | |
| Alma mater | University of Blåstad |
| Literary movement | Belle Époque literature |
| Notable works | |
Greger Paul Lange (/lænd͡ʒ/; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882), sometimes estmerishized as Gregory Lange, was a Geatish historian, essayist, journalist and social theorist. He is best known for his three-volume History of the Euclean Peoples, which is one of the most widely read and circulated commentaries on history in the world. Lange is most closely associated with the great man theory of history. Lange asserted that the course of history was determined by the actions of a small group of influential leaders, whom he termed the leaders of men. His collected works and ideology are known as Langean theory.
Lange's writings center around his theory of social stratification, which holds that societies naturally distinguish between leaders of men (statesmen, monarchs, military commanders), leaders among men (authors, thinkers, theorists) and ordinary men. Lange advocated a top-down understanding of history. He suggested that leaders of men determine the course of history, and that their actions determine the destiny of ordinary men rather than the other way around. Great men formed a subset of leaders whose actions, according to Lange, shaped human history most profoundly. In his History of the Euclean Peoples, Lange analyzed the history of Euclea through the lens of political figures, culminating in his analysis of the First Narozalic Civil War and Eduard Olsov. In his Karl Theodor in Werania, a commentary on Weranian Unification, Lange examined the rise of Rudolf IV as a case study of his social theory.
In On Chaos and Order, a companion pamphlet to Karl Theodor in Werania, Lange argued that great men arose out of societal chaos and disorder. He developed chaos-order spectrum of societal analysis, in which he argued that human societies sway between periods of social order brought about by great men and periods of social chaos. Lange believed that great men existed to "set society aright". In his essay The Last Solarians, Lange analyzed the conditions following the collapse of the Solarian Empire and the rise of the Verliquoian Empire according to his chaos-order spectrum.
Lange was hugely influential in the fields of history, historiography and sociology during the 20th century. He continues to be one of the most published historians and social thinkers of the 19th century. In modern times, his work is controversial and his legacy remains contested. Many of Lange's supporters, particularly those in the conservative tradition, laud his theories of innate social stratification. Critics argue that his philosophy of history neglects key economic and social factors in its analysis, focusing instead on a simple-minded interpretation of historical cause and effect. Other critics contend that Lange's reverance for political strongmen fomented authoritarian ideologies like functionalism.