From the beginning of the formal study of international law, one of its basic principles has been the concept of legitimacy of rule. And one of the key pillars of that is tolerance. That is, a government tolerated by those over whom it rules must be viewed as fundamentally legitimate by the international community.
The form of this government may be antiquated. Its establishment may have been arbitrary. The manner of its application may be incompetent and even harsh. But if its people do not rise up and remove it, it is presumed that it is accepted by them, that they prize whatever degree of order it provides over any costs – even those deemed unbearable by outsiders. This judgment must be respected by the rest of the world.
And that’s the problem with leadership. It’s not just that its mantle is assumed by so many frauds, but that we don’t care enough to do anything about it. Not we who are impressed into the immediate “followership” of these “leaders,” and not we in the general community who know perfectly well what’s going on, but feel it is not our place to interfere.
But there are two more interesting problems with all of this – and we’ll look at them over the next two days. See you tomorrow!
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Today’s tips: Speaking of fundamental principles, please do not fail to see Michael Wade’s list of general rules. You – we all – need to know these.
And speaking of timeless principles, please see Steve Roesler‘s picks of some of the best from Peter Drucker.
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