1. Name: Philip Aligwe Instructor: Jose Casal
Who is a charismatic leader? The sociologist Max Weber defined charismatic authority as
"resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual
person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him (Morrow)."
Qualities of a charismatic leader: Charismatic leaders are leaders that are guided by principles,
visionary (esp. for change), and sources of inspiration to their followers.
Positive charismatic leader:
Martin Luther King was a leader who was best known for his role of the advancement of civil
rights in the USA and globally; he used the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.
In the 1950’s there was a problem of concealed and overt racial inequality in the US. Then there
came a leader who fought for the less privileged, who always emphasized racial equality and fair
treatment of the poor masses in the country. When he spoke, he spoke with confidence as if he
saw a remarkable change that was coming to deal with the umbrella of uncivil rights that covered
the United States. He knew that one day the crisis of racial inequality will come to an end.
Martin Luther King was governed by the principle of equity; this can be inferred from the
speeches and sermons he gave. One of them is “All I'm saying is simply this, that all life is
interrelated, that somehow we're caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single

2. garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason,
I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you
ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality(Wallis).” He
meant that life was a sort of bond, and there is a correlation between the destinies of different
people. He saw people in the world as foundations of a house called life that required the equal
support of everyone for the world to be a better place.
Thus Martin Luther King was a positive charismatic leader because when the United States only
saw her dark days he saw a change and he was able to move people of different walks of life and
different races to protest against the adversity in a non-violent manner.
Negative Charismatic Leader:
Unlike MLK, Hitler was a negative charismatic leader who assured the people of Germany
change when Germany was suffering the pain of the injury that was caused by the First World
War. In his words “The misery is appalling, unemployment must be overcome(Video).” Not only
did Hitler say this he also made sure it was implemented by decreasing the unemployment rate in
Germany as at that time which helped in boosting the economy of Germany. I would say that
Hitler had a vision of racial prejudice, and inequality when he made a law that Jews should be
treated as second class citizens. This came to a point whereno German was to buy from a store

3. owned by the Jewish people; else the person would be beaten, killed or thrown in a concentration
camp.
As a charismatic leader Hitler motivated his army. He motivated them to go to war even though
Germany was in the devastation caused by their defeat in the First World War. Hitler also
managed and coordinated his troops even when Germany was attacked by the USA.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King and Adolf Hitler are two good examples of positive and
negative charismatic leaders because they both had visions—and principles that led to the
accomplishment of their visions.

4. Works Cited
Morrow, Avery. "Charismatic Movements in the PRC."Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
<http://avery.morrow.name/studies/falun-gong-and-crazy-english>.
Wallis, Jim. "Regarding Glenn Beck's Washington, DC Gathering Yesterday ..." Brian .d
Mclaren. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://brianmclaren.net/archives/blog/for-glenn-becks-
washington-dc-ga.html>.
Adolf Hitler Bio Colour #1 New Film Documentary. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hitler+documentary&mid=9D02F225F4115A4448629D
02F225F4115A444862&view=detail&FORM=VIRE1>.