Julius Caesar Quintessential Leadership

Quintessential Leadership

(Critique of the leadership portrayed by Aurelius, Plato, and Machiavelli)

Throughout history there has been one question that dominates all the others. Who is the best? Who was the best military leader, fighter, runner, swimmer, king, coach, teacher, etc. We as humans are always trying to find out who this best is in everything we do. To be fair, only the best are commemorated and kept in our history books, you hardly ever hear about the carpenter that lived down the road and made mediocre furniture. Rather you hear about the carpenter that is the best in town and makes beautiful furnishing. The same is with leadership. President Lincoln is remembered and revered in history, why? Because he was a great leader, one

In Republic Plato describes his ideal leader; the philosopher king. Quoted from Republic book five, “Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils, -no, nor the human race, as I believe, and then only will our state have a possibility of life and behold the light of day.” Here Plato is saying that if whoever is ruling cannot acquire the power to be a philosopher or understand philosophy then the republic is going to suffer as a whole. “The distinction between philosophers, men of true wisdom, and the rest of the community is justified by their inborn aptitude for reason and thought,” (Chandler, 2003). Here Chandler helps explain the difference between a regular guy and a philosopher. “Plato explains that a Republic can only be cultivated in a state - a political state - in which philosophers rule as kings and kings rule as philosophers, devoting themselves to inculcating true justice, true wisdom, and true happiness in the city and citizens... He alone approached the goal of “becoming like a god” of being truly happy,” (Darrin M. McMahon, 2010). Plato wants for the highest qualified people to be

The Prince is a basic and straightforward guideline to how to acquire and maintain an empire, specifically through the use of fear. “Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated,” (John Hollander, 2004). Hollander states what he thinks of fear in regard to a prince, that someone in power can still rule very effectively through fear while still not being hated. Machiavelli states, “it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with.” Simply, fear is the safest and most logical route to take. “...it is safer for a political leader to be feared. Human beings will promise much out of ‘love’ so long as they are not asked actually to do it; but when pressed to do what they have promised, they refuse and revolt... In other words, people will not fulfill their promises to you if you do not have means of forcing them to do so,” (Catherine Zuckert, 2014). It can be inferred that being a leader that is feared is going to be much more effective that being a leader that is only loved. Because people prey upon weakness, and love is a weakness. Machiavelli again states, “Love is held by a chain of obligation, which, because men are wicked, is broken at every opportunity for their own utility, but fear is held by a dread