Leadership In Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

Since the start of man a leader has always been necessary for civilizations in order to have production and keep the population continuous. Without having someone in charge, there is no chance of any success in a country, empire, or civilization. Even in today’s society, there is not a single country without a leader. Having people in charge is a necessity, or else the country would not exist after a short period of time. Since leadership is necessary in a country, knowing what kind of leader would fit best is extremely important. A collaborative leadership is the most effective leadership in order for a society to run as smooth as possible.

Most people would say someone who has authoritative leadership is a dictator, but this is not necessarily
In Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan he states that “the only way to erect such a Common Power as can make the people secure is to confer all their power and strength upon one man that may reduce all their wills, by plurality of voices, unto one will: which is as much to say, to appoint one man to represent them all.”
Imagine in basketball if one team had all five guys on the court and for the entire game not a single pass was made. The other team had the same five guys, but they passed the ball around. Clearly the team making all the passes would win since one person cannot carry the entire team. Essentially this is what collaborative leadership is. Being able to work with other people allows for a much for simple and civilized community. Like in basketball the point guard is the guy that runs the show, he can “dictate” what he wants to do with the ball, but he can work with other people to get better options in order to score. Think of a leaders of a country the same way, he ultimately controls what goes on, but he can work with other people so they have a say as well. In The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli he says, “A prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated”. Niccolo explains how while fear might be better you don’t want to have too much and you need to work with your people in order for them to like you. If you are too loved, then the people that are closest to you will turn against you, like Macbeth did to Duncan in Shakespeare’s tragedy. Kings can work with his people, but he needs to make sure they understand there will be consequences. Confucius explains roughly the same