Prompt #1 (04/14/08)

Books used:

• Leadership by James MacGregor Burns (pgs. 36~40)
• The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (index)

Notes and thoughts on conscience and conflict (in the Leadership book) -

Leaders should be working for the needs of the followers, so people provide the initiatives. And therefore only the followers themselves can ultimately define their own true needs. does this relate back to the conscience of a society? And the people can only define their own needs after being exposed to alternatives. There must be a conscious choice among real alternatives. so a totaliarian government doesn't fit this definition. so... in that type of gvt, the leaders' conscience, or lact thereof, overrides everything else. Hence, leadership assumes competition and conflict, and brute power denies that. similiar to previous post... "Conflict motivates people" (prompt #2?) Leadership acts as an inciting and triggering force in the conversion of conflicting demands, values, and goals into significant behavior. in balancing out what the people want/not want, the leaders are causing... something. Since leaders have an interest of their own, whether opportunistic or idealistic or both, in expressing and exploiting the followers' wants, needs, and aspirations, they act as catalytic agents in arousing followers' consciousness. so they cause the people to become conscious. of what? and isn't this talking about an ideal leader? "If a fight starts, watch the crowd, because the crowd plays the decisive role." isn't this exactly the opposite of the last sentence? well maybe the last sentence is saying that a leader should ideally work for the desires of the followers, meaning that ultimately, the majority gets their way. the civilization itself "has more power" over people's conscience. "To make conscious what lies unconscious among followers." now the leader is supposed to figure out what it is the majority wants? or no, help the majority figure out what they want. The leader must appeal to the followers' desires. not necessarily work to achieve those desires, just be appealing?