In high school I read "The Republic". I have forgotten most of the book but it had a big impact on my life and kernels have stayed with me.
"The Republic" (Plato)
Socrates (through his student Plato) proposed the idea of the Philosopher King. I think about that idea often at work and especially during political elections. A King is a term for a group leader and we have them all over the place.
Who do you want to be the King?
There is that guy/gal who tells everyone how much they want to be King. How much they deserve the power to make every decision, to tell everyone what to do. That person who has an easy answer for everything. That person who is always wheeling and dealing to make themselves more important.
Even two thousand years ago, Socrates was wise enough to see that that guy is the LAST person you want for a King.
No, Socrates proposed that the King we all really want is the one that does NOT want to be King at all. The person that is wise enough to know that the job totally sucks and is much harder than it looks. The person that doesnt want all that power because they know it comes with so much responsibility. The person that walks away when the election starts.
Socrates said that you want the King that you have to force to be King. The one who only takes the job because their sense of responsibility to others; the one that understands how bad it would if that guy gets the job.
Socrates was poisoned for speaking out against that guy but I still think about him.
