Max Nordau

Max Nordau was a prominent Hungarian-born Swiss psychiatrist, writer, and social critic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for coining the term “muscular Christianity” and for his critique of modern culture, particularly in his book *Degeneration* (1892), where he analyzed what he saw as the decline of Western civilization’s moral and physical vitality. Nordau also engaged in the arts and was involved with the Zionist movement. His work combined insights from psychiatry with social commentary, emphasizing the importance of strength, discipline, and cultural renewal.