Fear As An Effective Leader

Fear a powerful emotion, once it is born it is merely impossible for it to perish. Fear corrupts, tortures, and haunts all. Humans have a horror encrypted into their core. With the power of holding one's fear forms the feeling of paranoia leading to the most holiest power of all, control. Throughout history paranoia has been used to control mass populations and indoctrinate their mind. A common example of this, is the reign of Joseph Stalin; dictator of the Soviet Union who used the paranoia of death and being sent to concentration camp to control his citizens and sustain power. George Orwell, a man who recognized this demoralizing form of dictatorship and was terrified, of what might come if no one rebelled against this. Furthermore he

There are two types of leaders: those who are feared, and those who are loved. In order to decide which is superior, one first needs to understand what a “good” leader is, and is able to accomplish. Good leaders are able to maintain order, keep their position of power, and have the loyalty of his/her subjects. As clearly shown in Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, it is better to be feared as a leader than loved. This is proven in Lord of the Flies through Jack’s successful though chaotic rule, and Ralph’s unsuccessful experience as a leader.

If a leader must choose to be feared or loved what should they choose? On one hand being feared gives that leader control over society because the people fear punishment from the leader. Feared leaders usually have a strong military force and presence. On the other hand if a leader is loved they will have control over the people because society agrees because they listen to the society's ideas. A loved leader will be forgiven by the people when they make mistakes they will also have more trust from the people. Being loved as a leader is much better than being feared.

Machiavelli led us to a question that was continuously in disagreement. That question was “Is it better to be loved than feared, or vice versa” (p.392)? Machiavelli thought that one is to be loved & feared. Nevertheless, at the same time it’s tremendously hard to achieve being both loved & feared. Machiavelli believed that if one had to do without one of them that it would be a safer to be feared than to be loved. For example if a ruler was more loved than feared then if you served their men’s interest & were also devoted to them they would promise you their blood, possessions, lives, & children until you needed help because once you needed help you were on our own. If you’re more feared than loved then when you’re in trouble your

On the other hand, Lao-tzu admits that being the best leader, partly depends on how people feel about him/her. As he said in his book, “Next best is a leader who is loved. Next one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised.” (Lao-tzu 17) There are many examples of how successful leaders can be when they are being loved by their people. It is a natural act that affects them in being let to stay in power or not. Similarly, governments at the moment face this fact too and as we see throughout the world, governments are being overthrown because of their people’s distaste and hate. That is

A society with a ruler that is feared is more organized and peaceful than one with a ruler that is loved. People could argue that in 1984 the people of Oceania love Big Brother, but he still maintains strict control. Yet it only appears as if the people love him, Big Brother and the government of Oceania are actually ruling by fear and manipulation. Fear stops the people from doing things that are against the government's best interest. Being loved by your people will not prevent them from robbing and breaking the law, if they do not fear any punishment, there will be nothing at all stopping them.

Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli encourages the idea that a fear leader is a good leader. Machiavelli makes the point that a good leader knows that it is, “far safer to be feared than loved” (Machiavelli 43) because love allows for weakness. It is easy to keep people under control and in line when they fear their leader because they do not want to have to face consequences that come with “doing wrong”. When a leader is loved, some many look at this as a weakness. Those who fear their leader are is less likely to curate rebellions and revolts because they know that their leader is not afraid of applying punishment. When a ruler is too kind to their subjects it leaves them vulnerable and they are easily taken advantage of, which threatens their position. For a good leader should, “desire to be accounted merciful and not cruel”, and needs to,

In Machiavelli’s “Prince” he discussed the use of fear as a political tool to maintain the state. He argued that fear when properly directed could generate loyalty and bolster the support of the government. He went on to write that fear was only powerful when wielded with care and when abused could quickly become counterproductive and result in being hated by the people. Fear was potent because it was the prince’s creation. Unlike love that is given to the prince and can easily be taken away, fear is the prince’s tool and his alone. “…men love at their own free will but fear at the will of the prince…” Politicians throughout history have used fear tactics with varying degrees of success. For the purpose of my argument I will compare

However, Hobbes and Machiavelli both illustrate the danger if fear is not dealt with properly. For Hobbes, if the sovereign doesn’t provide security to the individuals, then fear will emerge once again amongst them. This will lead to a state of total chaos where once again no one can do anything as they all must defend for their lives. Machiavelli states that if a prince utilizes fear incorrectly, it will eventually lead to their downfall. If they are hated or despised especially by the common people, then anyone can overthrow him as they would be admired and

If someone is loved as a leader, they have a certain image to uphold. If people disagree with their choices, they may try and get that person out of office. This is shown in The Tragedy Of Julius Caesar during Brutus' funeral speech for Caesar, he solemnly confessed "as he was/ valiant, I honor him: but, as he was ambitious, I/ slew him." (III, 2, 23-24) Brutus is saying that even though he loved Caesar, he killed him, because he was too ambitious. This means the ambition ruined Caesar's image to Brutus, causing Caesar's death. This is important because if people rule by fear, they won't have an image to uphold, and that can prevent their rule from ending prematurely. Moreover, love can make people neglectful towards major decisions that the leader makes.

A ruler needs to maintain a positive public image and please as many of the population as possible. It is impossible to please everyone whether you are an effective or ineffective ruler, but maintaining the support of the majority of the masses is of paramount concern in being a successful leader.

"Men are less hesitant about offending or harming a ruler who makes himself loved than one who inspires fear. For love is sustained by a bond of gratitude which, because men are excessively self-interested, is broken whenever they see a chance to benefit themselves. But fear is sustained by a dread of punishment that is always effective."

Whether a leader is feared or loved has been a debated issue by philosophers for many years. You could argue that a leader being loved is better because of the trust and motivation sides of things, or you could say to be feared is better because people follow rules and orders better. What is the role of government in human society? Whether being ruled under democracy, dictatorship, or autocracy all of these types of governments do however have one thing in common. All of these types of leaderships have one goal and that is to lead and rule the citizens under a “leaders” power which is established by the ruling parties and citizens. A leader controls everything in an organization, company, or group of people, and also knows exactly what is best for their followers. There are certain ways you can be a good leader, but sometimes these don’t work for everyone. Good leaders aren’t always the ones who are loved by all, but they are feared as well. So what makes a better leader, someone who is feared or loved?

Leaders fall into two categories, those who are loved, and those who are feared. Many teachers have to choose between being loved or feared, debating the pros and cons of each as they rise to power— being loved bringing adoration and a positive future with the country as a leader, but allowing for easy manipulation to maintain the adoration. Fear allows for the leader to shape the country in whatever way that is best, but without withstanding appreciation from the citizens that they rule over. This problem was prevalent in China’s leader, Mao Zedong. As he rose to power, Mao faced the choice of being a loved leader or feared. Mao used the love of people to rise to power. Power through love is much more deathly, but effective than fear.

towards fear can affect national success. If the leaders use fear to control citizens, the