I had the great fortune to listen to an ethics philosopher, Dr Gwilym David Blunt, at the St James Ethics Centre recently. He spoke on Power and Ethics. It was very thought provoking.
He proposed that there are two trends that are endangering our democratic freedoms. The first one is the rise in popularity of Stoicism. It’s become a popular philosophical practice, based on the early writings of Marcus Aurelius, and the slave Epictetus.
If I was to summarise Stoic philosophy, it’s: “We can't control everything that happens around us, but we can control how we react to it.”
So, what’s wrong with that?
Blunt points out that it implies no control over events, and thereby surrendering our autonomy to outside forces to some extent. No surprise, he said, that Stoicism rose in popularity during the Roman empire, when a whole lot of people were being subjugated as slaves, or as conquered people. To rise against the Roman empire seemed a folly, a lethal and dangerous one at that.
Stoicism is dangerous because it does not call us to challenge abuse of power.
The second trend Blunt points out is the rise of ‘ideological power’ in Silicon Valley. The ethos of hustle culture, of unfettered innovation, of liberated capitalism advocates for less government interference (to ensure a free market economy), less regulation (to ensure radical and rapid innovation), and less taxation (to ensure adequate resourcing of all that innovation).
What will we have if we allow the Silicon Valley ethos to take hold? Command of the innovation and wealth narrative that rewards those who lead technological companies.
It’s a lot of financial power in the hands of the few, without much of it going back to the community from which these people have benefited so much. I recently wrote about the traps of power and technology, based on the book, Power and Progress.
The paradigm we are falling into is the narrative that the rich, smart, educated technocrats will save us. The billionaires (take your pick of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, etc), will innovate or fund the way out of the challenges we face.
It’s the Hero Delusion.
And we oh so love the Hero story! Somebody big and strong will make it all okay. Hello Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman.
While we defer solutions to these superheroes, we give up our own responsibility for taking action. For standing up to crime. For making systemic change happen.
This is how democracies fail.
According to Ruth Ben-Ghiat, it's the playbook of the authoritarian ruler. They position themselves as the benevolent dictator.
When I asked Blunt what he suggested to stem the flow of BENEVOLENT PATERNALISM, he said, “simple daily acts of resistance.”
So, let’s RESIST. Here’s how:
Avoid the Cult of Personality of our technocrat rulers. Figures like Elon Musk have an almost mystical aura built around them as ‘entrepreneur of our generation’. Leaders are humans, just like us, and they all have the same failings and susceptibilities as the rest of us.
Constrain those personalities! We must keep our leaders, (technocrats, business leaders, politicians) accountable. Everyone must pay their taxes, be subject to the rule of law, and earn respect through service, not entitlement. As Blunt says, make them pay taxes and give back to the society from which they have benefited so much.
In our own workplaces, challenge the cult of personality. The flamboyant, confident team member? Create systems where everyone has to demonstrate contribution, not just allude to it. Promote leaders who are non-obvious candidates; individuals who are genuinely competent and not just brashly confident.
See the humanity in all people. Say hello to the homeless man camped outside the supermarket. Smile at the checkout person. Chat to strangers in an elevator. Build your sense of collective ‘us’. None of us is better than others. We are all humans, in this game together. We need to look after one another.
When a leader says they will be ‘dictator for a day’ and will make the office of President immune to prosecution, RESIST. There is no room in a democratic society, where we value freedom and equality and humanity, for one human to be above the laws we agree to uphold. This is the beginning of the end.
We can all make a difference. We all have power to influence. Use it.
Live with grace, lead in service.
And, RESIST!
***
Related articles
7 trends to incorporate into your leadership strategy in 2024
Rejection and failure - a leader’s pathway out
***
P.S. My latest leadership-book-in-disguise-as-a-novel, Olympus Bound, the second book in the Gaia Enterprise series, is available for pre-orders as a special edition signed paperback. Get your copy here now, ready for shipping by May 1st.
About Zoë Routh, Canberra leadership futurist
Zoë Routh is a leadership futurist, podcaster, and multiple award-winning author. She works with leaders and teams to explore what's coming and what it means for leadership of the future.
She has worked with individuals and teams internationally and in Australia since 1987. From wild Canadian rivers to the Australian Outback, and the Boardroom jungles, Zoë is an adventurist! She facilitates strategy and culture for the future with audacious teams.
Zoë's fourth leadership book, People Stuff - Beyond Personality Problems: An advanced handbook for leadership, won the Book of the Year at the Australian Business Book Awards in 2020. Her fifth book is a leadership futurist science fiction dystopian novel, The Olympus Project.
Zoë is the producer of the Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast, dedicated to asking “What if…?” and sharing big ideas on the Future of Leadership.
Zoë is an outdoor adventurist and enjoys telemark skiing, has run 6 marathons, is a one-time belly-dancer, has survived cancer, and loves hiking in the high country. She is married to a gorgeous Aussie and is a self-confessed dark chocolate addict.