In Search of True Leaders: Lessons from Antiquity

In Search of True Leaders: Lessons from Antiquity

by Hervé Rakoto Razafimbahiny, M.D.

The world is going through challenging times. And when we read or watch the news on any day, we hear the grand experts and commentators lament the fact that our leaders are not so competent and certainly not up to the task. Yet, in the past few years, new leaders have come to power in many countries, not least in China and India. Argentina elected a new president last year and in the United Kingdom, following the recent vote on Brexit, Mrs. Theresa May became Prime Minister. Many elections are on the horizon this year, including in the United States, and in many countries next year, among them, Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Germany, and Rwanda.

Many of us will have to vote in just a few months’ time and we should ask ourselves: do our current or future leaders have what it takes to guide our countries through these turbulent times and keep us safe, both at home and abroad? Can our leaders deliver on making our countries more prosperous for all and not just for the few? Do our current and future leaders have the unique skills to bring divided societies together? I remain quite perplexed in the face of the choices we have from the main parties in the United States where I will be voting just a few weeks from now, so I asked a few great thinkers and statesmen from Antiquity for help and advice.

Our times call for exceptional leaders such as the ones the world has known in the past: Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, Mahatma (Mohandas Karamchand) Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Deng Xiao Ping, Lee Kuan Yew, and José Mujica, just to name a few. A few current presidents, a chancellor, or some heads of government have, in my humble opinion, risen to a level of greatness but it is probably too soon for history to judge. Of course, great leaders are not limited to the realm of national politics, economics, and international relations. We need them in business, including the tech sector and the banks, the churches, the military, the arts, sports, the media, and the non-profits. More importantly, we also need both Western and non-Western perspectives on what makes a great leader, especially when we consider the fact that by 2050, India, China, the rest of Asia, Africa and Latin America will represent between themselves and according to United Nations 2015 population projections, four-fifths of humanity, about 8 billion people out of a total of close to 10 billion. By 2050, emerging countries will represent about three-quarters of the global GDP, as opposed to about a third today and billions more people will have joined the middle-class.

So, here are some of the teachings from Antiquity through the voices of: two philosophers, one from China and one from Greece; two statesmen, one from Persia and one from Rome; and an epic poem from India.

1/ Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC)

In “How to Run a Country: An Ancient Guide for Modern Leaders”, Philip Freeman selected a few key lessons for heads of states or governments from the writings of Marcus Tullius Cicero. Here they are: (1) “There are universal laws that govern the conduct of human affairs; (2) The best form of government embraces a balance of powers; (3) Leaders should be of exceptional character and integrity; (4) Keep your friends close . . . and your enemies closer; (5) Intelligence is not a dirty word; (6) Compromise is the key to getting things done; (7) Don’t raise taxes unless you absolutely have to; (8) Immigration makes a country stronger; (9) Never start an unjust war; and (10) Corruption destroys a nation.

Cicero himself did not follow his own advice as a politician and a statesman. He is best remembered and admired for his speeches and writings as a humanist who has enjoyed a lasting influence to this day.

2/ Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)

In The Analects, Confucius mentions in chapter seven the three requisites for government: “sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and the confidence of the people in their ruler”. “The most important is the people’s faith in their rulers. This is the foundation of the state and it cannot exist without it”.

“In order to properly carry out its role, government must be looked upon by its people for leadership and be respected. It must not lose the faith of its people”.

3/ The Mahabharata (c. 1,100 BC – 800 BC)

According to Devdutt Pattanaik, a physician turned writer and mythologist, “. . . if ones strips out the excess fat, one realizes that the Mahabharata is not a preachy tale appealing for peace. It is a determined exploration of the root of conflict.” And today, as we know, the roots of conflict are not just between countries at war or in civil wars, they are all around us: poverty, inequality, all forms of discrimination, immigration, religious intolerance, extremist ideologies, etc.

Chidananda Das Gupta, a film and cultural critic, explains about India that “few other nations have in their background this sense of life’s evanescence. At the end of the Mahabharata, everything is gone. All that we collect in life perishes. All that rises like waves eventually falls. All union ends in separation. All life ends in death.”

One of the lessons from the Mahabharata, according to “many modern scholars, writers, and playwrights”, is about “the futility of war”, an essential lesson humanity has yet to learn. Which of the wars started in the twenty-first century were or still are considered a “just war”? Were the deaths, terrible injuries, and now severe physical and mental health disabilities, and the homelessness suffered by the women and men who went to war justified? In view of those who are ready to start new wars or expand existing ones, should we not take the time to learn about the views of all the candidates for presidency of the United States –this group includes “the future leader of the free world”-- and have several informed public debates about this and other issues of importance like the economy, inequality, racism, sexism, education, healthcare, immigration, foreign policy, national security, and more? And this public debate in the United States should also be one in other countries of the world in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, or Latin America.

4/ Cyrus the Great (580 BC - 529 BC)

“As presented in the Cyropaedia”, the fictionalized account of Cyrus the Great’s life and accomplishments, “Cyrus is a model of virtue, thus a leader by example, but also a shrewd military strategist and politician”. He was the conqueror and founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the largest empire in the world in Antiquity. And as we know, empire-building or ambitions for empire, in countries, in business, and in non-profits continue to this day. Admirers of Cyrus the Great included Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Montesquieu, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. What does Cyrus the Great tell our leaders in government, in civil society, or in business? Here are his teachings: (1) Be Self-Reliant; (2) Be Generous; (3) Be Brief; (4) Be a Force for Good; (5) Be in Control; (6) Be Fun; (7) Be Loyal; (8) Be an Example; and (9) Be Courteous and Kind.

5/ Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)

In summary, “what are the qualities of a true leader? For Aristotle there were three: ethos, pathos, and logos. The ethos is his (or her) moral character and the source of his (or her) ability to convince others; the pathos is his (or her) ability to touch feelings and move people emotionally; the logos is his (or her) ability to give solid reasons for particular actions and, therefore, to move people intellectually.” “What has taken place in the modern world that has created the current absence of great leaders? One factor is the dissociation of leadership from genuine authority, that is, authority that is rooted in truth.”

Dr. DeMarco adds, “we are uprooted. Change is omnipresent and has separated us from anything stable and enduring, including a basis of authority from which a great leader could emerge.” “Authority is connected with truth. . . But if the leader has no involvement with truth, he (or she) has little of substance to offer those who follow him (or her).”. . . “Our present conception of a true leader is just as confused as our notion of authority”.

“We desire leaders, yet we cut their legs out from under them when we distrust authority and separate leadership from real moral values. We then settle for a variety of pseudo-leaders: the celebrity, the cult leader, the vote getter, the front-runner, the over achiever, and the trend setter.”

In Search of Strong, Wise and Ethical Leaders

Once elected or selected, leaders of countries big and small have the responsibility for our security and prosperity (or lack thereof), as citizens of the nation we belong to, and of peace, collective security, and international cooperation as global citizens belonging to one world.

We have to ask ourselves, which of our current leaders or aspiring leaders would pass the test and rise up to these high standards of conduct in public affairs from Antiquity? In the United States, but this is perhaps also true in other countries, many of the people I know or I have met are descendants of or immigrants themselves, just like me, in search of peace, security, and economic opportunities for their families and themselves, who have contributed and who in the future hope to contribute even more to their adopted countries. Perhaps, we should all remember another essential lesson from Deirdre McCloskey when she said of the United States, “. . . except for the Native Americans, we’re all . . . except for the Cherokee junior senator from Massachusetts, we’re all immigrants”.

We are, of course, dealing with the realm of politics, and “politics is never a conflict between good and evil, but always a choice between the preferable and the detestable” in the words of Raymond Aron. More than ever we need strong and wise but also ethical leaders. We know who the detestable are. Yet, we should not ask and settle for less than the true leaders we desperately need. But we also have to play our civic part. We have to be engaged, raise our voice, and cast our vote for the preferable, when it counts the most, not just with our heart and our intellect, but also with our conscience. As anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”.

REFERENCES

1/ “How to Run a Country: An Ancient Guide for Modern Leaders” by Marcus Tullius Cicero edited by Philip Freeman (Princeton, N.J., and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2013)

2/ “Political Theory – Confucius on the proper role of government” in the Self Deprecate Political Humor

https://selfdeprecate.com/politics-articles/confucius-proper-role-government/

3/ “From Jaya to Mahabharata” by Devdutt Pattanaik in Devlok

https://devdutt.com/articles/indian-mythology/mahabharata/from-jaya-to-mahabharata.html

4/ “Many Faces of the Mahabharata” by Steve R. Weisman in The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/27/arts/many-faces-of-the-mahabharata.html

5/ “9 Timeless Leadership Lessons from Cyrus the Great” by Ryan Holiday in Forbes Magazine

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanholiday/2012/04/19/9-timeless-leadership-lessons-from-cyrus-the-great/#4b7ae7a95efc

6/ “Cylinder of Cyrus the Great Makes US Debut” an article in Popular Archeology

https://popular-archaeology.com/issue/december-2012/article/cylinder-of-cyrus-the-great-makes-its-u-s-debut

7/ “The Later Legacy of Cyrus the Great” by Michael Seymour in The Met

https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/features/2013/cyrus-the-great

8/ “The Virtue of Leadership” by Donald DeMarco in the Catholic Education Resource Center

https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/politics-and-the-church/the-virtue-of-leadership.html

9/ “Ben Domenech Interviews Deirdre McCloskey on Inequality, Poverty, And Social Connectedness” by Ben Domenech in The Federalist

https://thefederalist.com/2016/05/02/ben-domenech-interviews-deirdre-mccloskey-on-inequality-poverty-and-social-connectedness/

10/ “Has Thomas Picketty met his match?” by Evan Davis in The Spectator

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2014/05/unequal-battle/

11/ “The Cyrus Cylinder in USA – Human Rights An Ancient Concept” by Carolyn McDowall in The Culture Concept Circle

https://www.thecultureconcept.com/the-cyrus-cylinder-in-usa-human-rights-an-ancient-concept

12/ Raymond Aron “Thinking Politically: A Liberal in the Age of Ideology”

(New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers-The State University,

1997).