It's a paraphrase, because I don't remember who I'd be quoting if I were quoting, but the assertion goes something like "For a battle like Crecy, you don't need a military genius like Edward III. You need an idiot like the Duc d'Alençon."
Been thinking about that one rather a lot lately.
@graydon rhyming with Mike Duncan's "Great Idiot Theory of History" - that social forces create the dissatisfaction and tension but it takes a real dunce* at the top to totally resist change and tip a situation into revolution.
*social forces etc can make reform difficult and constrain anyone's ability not to be a dunce... and some people just can't spot the escape hatch even if it's flashing neon colours.
TH ↙︎↙︎↙︎
Graydon
jimmynohands