The Importance Of Elite Leadership

The elite regulation or leadership is necessary for proper order but it is also dangerous at the same time. The elite leadership is necessary for coordinating behaviors, binding decisions, and resolving conflicts (Magagna). Elites need to step in to prevent the democratic assembly from being chaotic and resolve issues before they escalate into big conflict, which could endanger the social and political harmony. However, elite regulation could also generate potential danger in protecting peace and harmony and even the wellbeing of citizens because elites could take advantage of their political positions and exploit the innocent citizens to centralize their power and authority. This observation leads me to ask the following question: How does …show more content…
The more power, wealth, and status the elites have, the more they engage with negative opportunism. One effect of negative opportunism that elite leaders engage with is exploiting the so-called “golden opportunity” (Magagna). With this golden opportunity, the elites seek to cheat with low costs, steal, and even kill to accumulate more power with little or no punishment since they are perfectly insured (wealth, power, and status) against their actions and decisions (Magagna). Obviously, this golden opportunity is only meant for elites because ordinary citizens are incapable or even illegal to have this. The elites could especially seek the golden opportunity by taking advantage of the international crisis to make bad decisions such as overtaxing, exploiting, and making unattainable promises to the public citizens (Magagna). The elite leaders would practice coercion to make the citizens comply with their decisions, even if these enforcements could definitely harm the people. Hence, the ones who will suffer the most are the citizens because they have to bear the costs of losing their jobs, homes, and other benefits (Magagna). On the other hand, the elites are not liable for their irresponsible actions and judgment because of their high political and social status. The negative opportunism makes elite leaders to become …show more content…
In Confucianism, the elites are supposed to cultivate their moral characters and behaviors, and set a moral precedent for the public citizens to follow. They should also be obligated to serve the best interest of the citizens and society, and resist pursuing individual ambitions or self-interested aims, which could damage their moral code. However, human beings are weak and hence, vulnerable to temptations and personal desires. We are succumbed to become self-centered and egocentric, which are opposite of the Confucius moral teaching. The elite leaders are also weak humans and they are susceptible to these temptations as their political positions bring them more power and wealth. They would exploit their power hierarchy to enhance their arbitrary power and authority over the citizens by endorsing laws and decisions that could damage peace and harmony and the wellbeing of the