All You Need Is Love

Our most recent unit in PLP has been based around the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. In this unit, we explored concepts that appeared in the novel and could connect to history and everyday life in general. Every week, we had to write a paragraph about one of these concepts:

Power and Authority
Humanity and Inhumanity
Violence and Destruction
Human nature
Civilization and Savagery
Innocence and Evil
Individualism and Community

Also every week, we would receive feedback on these paragraphs, making our next paragraph more successful. Our task now is to expand on one of our concepts, so here goes:

I decided to look into the concept of power and authority, and I wanted to really focus on what makes a good leader. Eventually, I settled on an age old question; As a leader, is it better to be feared or loved?

 

Niccolo Machiavelli said “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.”
And although it is not usually wise to disagree with one of history’s greatest thinkers, Machiavelli’s statement couldn’t be more inaccurate. History has shown us that it is leaders who are loved that are capable of making the most difference. We can examine history as well as famous texts, which will prove that as a leader it is better to be loved than feared.

Macbeth:

A great counter to Machiavelli’s point lies in the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare. Macbeth is the epitome of a feared leader, with his ruthless wife at his side. Once Macbeth gets a taste of power, he develops an insatiable craving for more, eliminating his competition until he is the King of Scotland. Showing this kind of dominance creates fear and obedience in many, but Lord Macduff feels a different kind of fear, a fear that Macbeth will do whatever it takes to gain more and more power. Macbeth, however, realizes this and tries to scare off Macduff by killing his family:

“He has kill’d me, mother:
Run away, I pray you!” (Macduff’s son, Act 4 Scene 2)
Macbeth is clearly using fear as a tool to keep people in line. This tactic of being feared however, ultimately leads to Macbeth’s downfall. Macduff eventually kills Macbeth, since he knows that Macbeth has to be stopped. In fact, Macduff perfectly describes Macbeth as a tyrant:
“Then yield thee, coward,
And live to be the show and gaze o’ th’ time.
We’ll have thee, as our rarer monsters are,
Painted on a pole, and underwrit,
‘Here may you see the tyrant.’ “(Act 5 Scene 8)

Ultimately, Macbeth’s desire to be a feared leader leads to his downfall, and he is a great example that leaders are better off loved than feared.

History:

More great examples that it is better to be loved than feared lie in history. Arguably the greatest leader of all time, Julius Caesar, was adored by his people. Instead of trying to create obedient subjects who catered to his every will, Caesar gave the people what they wanted. He offered citizenship to people outside Rome, conquered barbaric tribes, and gave land to retired soldiers.

This kept the people happy and kept Caesar safe. Since Caesar didn’t have to worry about an uprising, he was able to focus on creating one of the World’s greatest empires. It seems that a feared leader has a target on their back, whilst a loved leader is left in peace to rule peacefully. Caesar is not the only loved leader who created a thriving empire. Alexander the Great, another one of history’s successful leaders was also loved by his people.

When Alexander conquered a place, he would let the people continue to live normally, instead of oppressing them. This created an empire where Alexander was able to rule prosperously for years. Not only will loved leaders rule longer, they will benefit society. It is usually during the reign of a loved leader that cultural growth and beneficial political reform is seen. This is when our World truly advances and the human potential is maximized. For example, during the Middle Ages, one of the most brutal and fearful times in history, leaders were usually feared or they would be overthrown. This caused little growth in the arts and very little political reform. In contrast, the Renaissance was filled with loved leaders such as Lorenzo'”the Magnificent” Medici. These loved leaders are what allowed for the rich cultural growth that occurred during the Renaissance. Since the citizens did not have to spend their time worrying about their leader, they could fill their days with creating art, trading goods, and other activities that benefited society for the better. The contrast between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance clearly shows that it is only during the reign of a loved leader when society can advance.

Lord of the Flies:

In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, it is clearly shown that a loved leader is more effective than a feared one. When the boys crash on an island, it does not take long for them to realize the need to elect a leader. In contention is Ralph, who comes across as calm and collected, and Jack who leads his choir with an “iron fist”: “When [Jack’s] party was about ten yards from the platform he shouted an order and they halted, gasping, sweating, swaying in the fierce light.” (Chapter 1). Not surprisingly, the boys elect Ralph as the leader. This shows that even if humans know nothing about two people, they will always gravitate away from the one who uses fear to gain obedience. This seems to contrast directly with Machiavelli’s opinion; he thought that leaders should be cruel and merciless. Obviously the boys in Lord of the Flies disagreed. In fact, through the course of the story, Ralph becomes less and less loved by the children. As their affection for Ralph is lost, the children gravitate towards Jack. Jack promises the thrill of the hunt, something that wins him support from the boys. This switch in the boys’ attitude shows again that people will gravitate towards a leader that they love, as they switch from Ralph to Jack.

To conclude, famous texts such as Macbeth and Lord of the Flies clearly illustrate that leaders are better off being loved than feared. They provide key examples which directly counter Machiavelli’s statement. History has also shown that it is the loved leaders, the likes of Caesar and Alexander the Great, who are the most successful.

So, while Machiavelli was a literary genius and had groundbreaking ideas for the time, it appears he was wrong about one thing; as a leader, it is much more beneficial, both for the leader and the people, to be loved than feared.

Just to sum it all up, here is a short animation that gives a quick summary of my ideas:

Well there you have it, my ideas on the concept of power and authority. I really enjoyed creating this post because at first, I wasn’t sure what stance to take on Machiavelli’s statement. This made the research and developing my thesis extremely interesting.