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“Leadership is a nebulous concept. We recognise and know it, but it is difficult to define. It involves capacity to give people direction, guidance and inspiration, as well as be a role model for current and future generations. Therefore, a leader is a person who has vision, who has integrity no matter what, and who is above all, an honest and law abiding citizen. He or she will inspire confidence, is strategic, and puts public good over personal gains. This is indeed a tall order—nonetheless can be found at all levels, and nurtured provided the society values and ‘rewards’ such traits.”
– Dr Padma Narsey Lal
Classless society an alternative: Dr Qalo
Society has changed dramatically with IT and globalisation and a more open economy helping individuals to get along without any reliance on political leaders and their circle of reference group—otherwise known as “hangers-on”, says USP academic, Dr Ropate Qalo.
Globalisation allows people to have “join ventures” or partnership from overseas and do their own thing.
“Loyalty to a structure and its functions are only for convenience and very short-term.
“This process has a levelling effect and produces many types of leaders in sub-systems who don’t care “two hoots” about the hierarchy.
“In my view, the USA, UK, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Australia, NZ, etc are immersed in that sort of level.
“Their public image is very much symbolic and is a process of managed impression promoted for the common people (voters) and so-called political stability.
“It is a staged performance devoid of reality. It is this phoney image that leadership seekers in the colonial mind-set fall for and into.
“You asked, ‘Is our political system making clean leaders dirty, or worse; is our political system stopping ‘clean and good leaders’ from taking up leadership’?
“The latter appears to be the case. Look at former President John F. Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, and Bush Jnr. in real life plus various movies coming out of Hollywood depicting corrupted leaders or good leaders gunned down by corrupt organisations, etc.
“I use USA here because most countries try to emulate Americans. The worst are Australians. The New Zealanders try to emulate the British.
“Their champion rugby team is still called the Crusaders and they try to emulate the setting of the old British Castles around the Park.
“Politics, entertainment, art and the media today are very close to the truth and are almost indistinguishable in certain cases.
“The primaries between Obama and Hillary Clinton are more entertainment in my humble opinion than serious thoughtful democratic political processes.
“Welcome to the post-modern world with IT almost as quick as the nervous system.
“What am I saying? Grand structures and its leadership are mere window dressing and false. We are acting like colonised people with grand leaders. Those are dinosaurs.
“The quicker we get out of such a grand leadership with all its rituals, the more that could be saved from the trimmings to benefit the less fortunate.
“As colonially imprisoned minds, we are told what is good for us creating a “false need” like all those goods that are advertised on TV day in day out.
“All we need is team work with the leadership rotating amongst team members. I know I make it sound very simple, but what is complicated about a classless society as an ideology?
“It changed Russia, China and influenced much of the world through Marxism, the father of post-modernist to some.”
“We need leaders who are aware of their public responsibilities, their powers, their strengths and their vulnerabilities.
“We need leaders who understand the value and importance of getting the best advice and of having a well-run, disciplined public service.
“We need leaders who use the normal tools of democratic governance, not raw power, to get themselves out of hotspots.
“We need leaders who understand and use democratic processes to shape events, not leaders who are pushed and pulled by circumstances and the people around them.”
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