Why do we need leaders at all? This provocative question, raised by Kaushik Basu in a paper earlier this year , aims to use insights from t...
Why do we need leaders at all? This provocative question, raised by Kaushik Basu in a paper earlier this year, aims to use insights from the field of game theory to understand the governing dynamics of societal behaviour. Why does society need leaders to guide groups (and individuals) towards certain social outcomes and to what extent do leaders have a moral responsibility towards citizens?
Basu argues how, from social contracts or norms, through the law, to the authoritarian ruler, each of their power(s) come from the “gossamer threads of our beliefs” and opinions about one another.
For an authoritarian leader in power, his power of authority over the citizenry (and most tyrants in history have been men) is broadly shaped by the collective beliefs of people about the leader.
A focal point
A leader, who tends to act as a “focal point”, he writes, helps (or commands) citizens to gravitate their actions towards a set of social and economic outcomes that affect their welfare.
Why is this discussion relevant?
In a year when India celebrates its 75th Independence Day, this (re)conceptualisation of leadership and its significance from the applied contours of game theory and accompanied philosophical insights should make us reflect on the role of a leader – and the moral responsibility they...
