Governing the Unknown

Having a Leader

Not Having a Leader

·         Order and control over society ·         Someone responsible for the rest of the people ·         Someone to look up to when needed ·         An authority to make justice ·         Someone who makes and applies fair rules and laws ·         A fair person that fixes disagreements among societies with an objective judgment ·         Helps organizations more clearly understand and communicate their ideas

·         People can make their own choices and decisions ·         Anyone would be able to do what they want without judgment or critic from others since everything would be considered ‘fine’ ·         People would decide what to do of their own lives ·         Anyone would choose whether to study/work, so those who did it, would always be motivated and eager since they had made the decision to be there and no one forced them.

Discussion:

 Due to the fact that we are 35 students trapped in an island, we decided to have a leader because we think having someone to be responsible and to take control of the masses is important when raising a society. Our leader will supervise people’s actions without controlling them; the leader will also establish certain rules that are needed to be followed in order for the proper function of a society, so people will be able to live with one another despite their differences. Our leader will also be someone to look up to in times of trouble and someone responsible and mature, apt for the role of leader and who will act responsively in a case of trouble.  The leader will make the important decisions that have to do with society but taking into consideration people’s desires, meaning we choose to have a democracy among the 35 individuals so even though not everyone is pleased, at least the majority will win so it won’t be unfair. Our governor will be supposedly choosing the most suitable thing to do according to everyone’s opinions, finding a fair balance between what everybody wants and what is better for them. The leader will be chosen after a very detailed selection; first, those who want to become leaders will be taken into consideration, then those who have the characteristics necessary for a leader such as courage, self control, patience, honesty, respect, maturity, responsibility, and mercy, and then only those will have the possibilities of becoming leaders and they will be chosen by the people’s choice. If the leader got to a point in which they got too powerful, a group of people previously selected to have control if this case happened, and will automatically take the leader off their position and elect another while treating the previous leader to help them overcome their abuse of power and preparing them to become a normal member of society because by becoming abusive of power, they lose the privilege of becoming a leader forever, and other people in the island will take the roll.

By: Maria Virginia Velazquez Hammerle

Reflection:

The group members didn't have trouble coming to the decision of having a leader since we all though the idea of having a leader was the best, probably because we live in a country with a leader and see how it improves the country and society. Besides, seeing how having a leader can affect the behavior in people, we all chose to have a leader in our island especially because the 35 people coming into it were all ready mature and were probably used and aware of having a leader. When the time of thinking whether the leader should take decisions for everything or if the leader should only decide the most important things, some wanted the leader to make every decision and every action that was going to be made, while others opted for a more free style of living, meaning the leader would only choose the most important things and people would individually choose how to live. Finally we decided to have a leader that decided everything, so people would have similar lifestyles and they would be joined easily as a society in this way. We didn't know exactly some characteristics of the leader, their age, gender, or beliefs, so we left it open so anyone could become a leader. A question that also remained more or less without discussing was how much time the leader should stay in their position; we did though clarify what would happen if the leader led in a wrong way or made a bad decision so we didn't leave it so unmentioned. Deciding about leadership in society is very important and necessary since without leadership there is simply no society and no order at all, apart from that, without a leader it is impossible to make people agree with each other since everyone wants the best for themselves so people would be selfish and there would be no sense of a community or a society.

By: Maria Virignia Velazquez Hammerle