If I were to ask if there exists a ‘perfect’ leader in our world today, the most common answer would probably be no. Still, some may answer yes – and these people would probably be able to name this leader without any hint of hesitation. This just proves more strongly that no ‘perfect’ leader exists. My point would be justified if I were to ask this question to someone who lives under a dictatorship – out of fear, these people would only have one answer. But what is it exactly that defines a ‘perfect’ leader? This would be a very difficult question to answer, especially given that a nation’s leader is not limited to their president or prime minister, but rather their whole administration or government. Thus, in assessing the leadership of a nation, we have to look much deeper and dive into the whole system of governance. However, through what aspects should this leadership be assessed?
University of Chicago scholar Jean Bethke Elshtain has proposed that “there is something mysterious about leadership, something not reducible to surveys and models.”. In my opinion, this is a very justified claim given how leaders have to deal with a broad spectrum of problems in different ways with different outcomes. It would thus be unjust to say that there exists a ‘perfect’ concept of leadership. Huang Zongxi has proposed how the happiness of the people is a duty of a leader, since the people are actually the ‘masters’ of the leader (p.33). He has also proposed how the peace and disorder of a nation is directly related to the happiness and distress of its people (p.35). Therefore, we can perceive that he correlates good leadership with the happiness of the people. However, does this apply to a nation whose people have been blindsided into happiness? Imagine if a leader had isolated a nation from the whole world, make its people live a harsh life but somehow have them believe that they are living a complete life full of happiness. This could be possible because they have nothing to reference to from the outside world to set their perspective on happiness. Of course, this is a very vague concept and many arguments can oppose its possibility. However, it still helps to present the how concepts of leadership will all have limitations. This is not limited to Huang Zongxi’s concept, but to many other concepts as well.
The perplexity of leadership has thus made it difficult to define a ‘perfect’ leader – but why am I even talking about this? Why is this perfect formula for a leader so important? Perhaps, this may be because I have observed something lacking in the leaders of today. I’m very sure that I am not alone in this opinion – constant protests around the world act as proof. Taking a look at the current situation of our world – the refugee crisis has proved to be one of the most heated topics of today. This crisis alone already shows what our leaders lack, and that is humanity. This would apply to the nations who are creating a home so atrocious that its inhabitants must flee, as well as those who aren’t sharing their home to these people who have nowhere else to go. Huang Zongxi has stated how a true leader would require the difficult task of having immense selflessness, contradicting our nature as humans to be attracted to ease (p.32). I understand that this is echoed in the refugee crisis. Taking in refugees would create a lot of problems, the solutions to which would require a lot of work. In weighing the benefits and drawbacks, humanity is often lost.
For this reason, I propose that it is now more than ever that we need to be introduced to the concept of humanistic leadership. A leadership in which morality is given the utmost importance, not ease or profits, as often seen today. We need something to help nurture us slowly into this concept of humanistic leadership. In my opinion, the texts chosen for the course In Dialogue with Humanity are in perfect harmony with this objective. Texts such as Waiting for the Dawn and The Social Contract introduce readers to a wider horizon of how a government can be run while also integrating humanity as an important aspect in governing. In analyzing these two texts, it’s very interesting to see how they begin with a self-introspection – how both these writers found within themselves a will to introduce their ideas to the world, for the sake of a better society.
Rousseau has mentioned during this part how his right to vote had alone validated his duty to express his ideas on public affairs (I, 3). I would like to emphasize on the word ‘duty’ here, as I believe the youth of today often neglect, or may perhaps sometimes even disregard their duty to engage in public affairs. However, please be advised that I am not talking about all youth. I do recognize that in today’s world of the internet many often express their opinions on world problems on social media, yet only a fraction actually seems hopeful for change and campaign for it. Perhaps they lack the determination that Huang Zongxi had shown when he talked about dawn breaking (p.32). Yet isn’t this determination important? Isn’t it a quality we require for our future leaders? It’s clear that we need to increase this fraction of the hopeful.
Jean Bethke Elshtain has shared her fascination on “what happens – what is kindled – when a particular person or persons in a particular context ignites something in others.”. It is very fascinating indeed, this ignition which she talks about. It is true that as humans, the ideas in our minds are products of inspiration, isn’t it? Even Huang Zongxi had begun “Waiting for the Dawn” with a quote from Mencius and his views on it (p.31). Rousseau would’ve never made “The Social Contract” if he didn’t realize that his society had flaws in its governance. It is valid to say then, that these two texts can in turn inspire today’s youth to develop and expound their own ideas. This is why exposure to these texts should be given importance. Perhaps this is key to the problem I have mentioned before – perhaps through Rousseau’s emphasis of his duty to engage in public affairs, or through Huang Zongxi’s candid hope for a better future, something is kindled within their readers. It wouldn’t be illogical to predict that through these texts, the fraction of the hopeful could increase.
It is not, however, limited to the attitude of these authors that readers could draw inspiration. I believe that the content of these texts could also activate the mind of their readers. I have deliberately chosen the word ‘activate’ as I believe this word better suits the objective of what I am trying to emphasize than the word ‘inspires’. This is because these works of writing have been carefully crafted to get a reaction out of their readers, making them think in new ways as well as explore greater horizons of ideas. With the integration of these texts, the possibility of greater activation only increases.
What I am saying may seem a little ambiguous at the moment, so let me present an example to help me substantiate my point. Huang Zongxi has presented the concept of ‘un-Lawful laws’ which could be said to be laws which are only set up to protect the power and the position of government officials (p.38). In a broader sense, these ‘un-Lawful laws’ could also represent those laws which benefit some and not others, or perhaps laws which are just frankly unfair. These kinds of laws are still very prevalent today – if they weren’t, I’m sure I wouldn’t be speaking about this topic at this moment. It is clear that these laws lack humanity. Rousseau, on the other hand, has mentioned how under the social contract, laws are formed through an act of agreement between the whole populace of a nation (II:VI,7-10). He has also mentioned how under this ‘contract’, the populace gives themselves into one union such that there is no interest to burden anyone within the population (I:VI,6).
Thus, we can loosely conclude that since the population is a union, the laws made by the populace will not do harm to others, as in doing so they will also harm themselves. Through this concept, an aspect of humanity has been added into the act of law-making. This concept can therefore act as a solution to the problem of ‘un-Lawful laws’, which are still evident today.
Whether this solution is a good solution or not is a whole other discussion – yet it is exactly this that I am trying to emphasize. How the concepts presented through these texts can be integrated to initiate discussions and synthesize ideas which can be applied to the modern world. The essence of humanity in these concepts adds on to the importance of these texts in training future leaders, since it is necessary for them to move towards a more humanistic way of leading. I have focused this thesis on two texts which talk more about governance, but I would like to bring light to the other, less politically charged texts as well. I believe that these texts present in the curriculum also play an important role in nurturing and developing a sense of humanity within its readers, a quality which is undoubtedly required in a leader.
I have thus far emphasized how the texts present in the curriculum for the course In Dialogue with Humanity promote the training of humanistic leadership. Humanistic leadership, however, is inevitably another concept of leadership. As I have mentioned before, every concept of leadership will have its limitations due to the complexity of leadership – this applies for humanistic leadership as well. Even Rousseau had blatantly acknowledged the limitations of the concept he had proposed – he mentions how even the general will of a population could be wholly misguided (II:VI,10). What I am trying to imply through this is that humanistic leadership is not a fully developed concept, and that these texts do not provide a complete and justified guide to the concept. However, they do give us an insight into the topic and can help us to formulate solutions to its limitations. Humanity is lacking in many of our current leaders, and these texts may hold the key to change this. Through inspiration and activation, our minds could formulate the answers we need to move towards a more humanistic future.