Opinion
Leadership in Future
Securing and maintaining control over some territory for hunting food is the top existential priority of higher animals. Sometimes they die for it because they must die without it. There are a variety of interesting and amusing ways and means adopted by the different species to demarcate their area of operation.
Our ancestors, too, while living in caves, drove their adult progeny out. Slowly and painfully, and may be accidentally, they must have discovered the strength in number. And first tentative steps forming a society were taken. It is not very surprising, then, that the most primitive societies adopted the animal political system. The ability to fight best was the criterion for selecting its leader. He had to be strong, cunning and ruthless. When it came to dealing with other societies, it was again the jungle law. Murder, plunder and rape were heroic acts.
Though agriculture began to civilize the members within the society, a new territorial strife cropped up among the member families of the society as also among the members of a family. Laws for property (including wives and children), its transfer and inheritance were formulated. These agricultural societies only refined the animal political system of settling the issues with force and violence especially with people of other races and tribes.
When the diabolical tool of spiritual subjugation made its entry is an academic point, it is still with us at the close of the twentieth century, with the same deadly effect. Kill or break the spirit and you get the ideal obedient automaton. Human society, then, encountered its first freak - the megalomaniac who craved for more and more territory without any existential needs.
With industrialization and onset of democracies, the criterion for leadership changed. It was the first true departure from jungle law as mental prowess (acting, oratory, scheming etc.) now took place of brute force. Complete subjugation gave way to exploitation only. At last we were close to ants' political organization minus their efficiency and harmony.
In this dark political scenario of the present times, there is a silver lining, too. So far we have been fighting for land, water, minerals and other resources. The air was taken for granted and the Ozone layer shielding us from the ultra - violet rays of the Sun was unknown. The nations are for the first time beginning to realize that on the environmental and ecological issues they must sink together if can not swim together. This is the truth our present industrial civilization has discovered the hard way on the brink of extinction. Selecting our leaders by mental quality alone is inadequate to meet this challenge. We must devise more effective methods for choosing our true leaders. Some objective mind detector for the safety of the earth and survival of this high-tech civilization is indispensable now. Besides honesty and sincerity, these leaders must be loyal to the mother earth as a whole; not only to a part or parcel.
One wonders what these brave new leaders will lead us to. A global cooperative capitalism is as good a guess as any.
30-Sep-2001
More by :
Dr. A. Harindranath
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