Sunday, June 17, 2007
Leaders Can't Save Democracy Only the People Can
So true, especially when the majority of so-called leaders are vested in a corrupt system.
Leaders Can't Save Democracy Only the People Can:
The sociologist Robert Michels, one of Max Weber’s most brilliant students, in the concluding chapter of his 1911 book, Political Parties, wrote, “…every system of leadership is incompatible with the most essential postulates of democracy.” As citizens of democratic countries in the twenty-first century, we should carefully reflect on Michels’ well-researched conclusion at this time of conflict and global uncertainty. Especially in the Unites States where, in the present process of seeking a new president, we are bombarded with rhetoric from the media and our politicians announcing the need for strong leadership. One wonders if we’ve learned anything about democracy, or leaders, since 1911. And what are the core postulates of democracy, and do they conflict with leadership?
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