When in the movie The Gladiator, when the dying king asked the commander of his army, Maximus, offering the throne, instead of Commodious, following dialogue unravels. And this hides some fundamentals of philosophy.
Markus Aurelius: There is one more duty that I ask of you before you go home. I want you to become the protector of Rome after I die. I will empower you to one end alone, to give power back to the people of Rome and end the corruption that has crippled it.
Will you accept this great honor that I have offered you?
Maximus: With all my heart, no.
Markus Aurelius: Maximus, that is why it must be you.
Philosophy of choosing a leader.
We can deduct rules for choosing a leader for ourselves. Nowadays, there are no kings, hence, it is not the king's responsibility to choose a ruler. Good or bad, we all have the power to choose our ruler as a collective decision. Imagine two men run for presidency. Only thing we know is the image given by the media, about their intentions. Although it is wise to choose the one, who is less greedy about becoming the president, this also can be manipulated by the media. Hardly anyone wants to give up the power once they have it, because of the privileges comes with it. It may not be material, or luxury like older days, but it may come as recognition, respect, etc. Hence it is common; in developing countries, rulers are still behaving like kings, although they are chosen by general public. And it is a vicious cycle for the poor people in these countries, as they always have to choose less corrupt politician, as good ones, never come for running presidency. Just like Maximus in this case. This leads to the question, why people do not want to become kings. What do these good men see it as a burden.
Good leaders, see it a burden to become a ruler, why?
They do not see the power; they are not greedy about the luxury or the recognition. They see the leadership as a responsibility. They know that if they become the president, they have the responsibility to build the nation (universal kings). They know that is not an easy task, when everyone tries to meet their selfish ends. It is really difficult. They know people are going to die because of decisions they make about the country's economy. They know, people are going to suffer, if they fail. They know they have to put criminals in the jail. And they know they have to establish, ethical killing of animals to increase the nutrition of the children of the country. Imagine you are pure at heart. Would you rather be a King/ a leader or just let some other human being to do that. That is why it is unlikely someone with such pure intentions would lead a country. It is uncommon. And it is uncommon even in the case of modern democracy.
The take home messages from Maximus, the gladiator Philosophy.
Following is a few.
When choosing a leader,
Choose the one who is willing to do no unethical things, to come to the power. It is better to make a system, so that such people can come to power. As Adam Smith once pointed out, this is responsibility of wealthy, emperors to distribute their wealth to such people, not only their corrupt children. Who will continue to do good to the society, and humankind.
When choosing happiness,
Remember the happiness paradox? when you try to fight with the monster the monster will become bigger and eat you alive. So, as in stoic philosophy suggests, focus on good moral grounds, rather than your greedy intentions.
Let's choose Peace, over happiness, as nature always will choose happiness for you if you do this.
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