A. Hayek, market theoreticians have to a large extent employed the equivalent of the Great Man theory of history to explain what makes markets tick.

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Both have advantages and disadvantages, much as the broad, impersonal-forces approach to the past and the heroic, great-man theory of history each have theirs.

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Clearly, the "great man" theory of history will always be ripe for debate, but as shown by a choice reading of CEOs the presence of a strong, charismatic leader can hold more sway in business than elsewhere.

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