Utopian Leaders

Ancient Concepts of Utopian Leadership

Western notions of an ideal social order and of the qualities of leadership necessary to maintain that order occur in Classical literature and in the sacred texts of the People of the Book (that is, Jews, Christians, and Muslims). In The Republic of Plato (c. 428–348 BCE), Socrates posited the utopian leadership of philosopher kings, guardians of the state who are neither democratic nor tyrannical. They rule over soldiers and workers, although all three classes demonstrate temperance and restraint. Philosopher kings are concerned not simply with practical applications of justice but with an intimate knowledge of the essence of justice—its philosophy. Plato saw society is a macrocosm of the human individual and viewed philosopher kings as the rational faculty of human community, comparing them to captains guiding a ship or charioteers reining horses.

While the People of the Book imagined an ideal society at the beginning of human history (the Garden of Eden) and an ideal condition at its end (Paradise or heaven), their scriptures also described the conditions of a godly human society and its leadership during the interim. Over the past two and a half millennia, followers of the three faiths have attempted to institute utopian theocracies (governments based on religious laws). For example, the Jewish concept of kingship differed from that of its Middle Eastern neighbors in that the Hebrew king was not considered a divine being (although he was seen as divinely anointed or ordained). Instead, he was a human expected to live within the laws of holiness; he was to serve as the exemplar. God, rather than the king, was understood as the source of law, and even the king was subject to the law. More important, as savior of his people, the Hebrew king was to be a special advocate for the poor, aliens, widows, and orphans.

According to their national mythos, after the death of Joshua, the Hebrew people initially resisted kingly leadership in favor of judges who would guide the people by interpreting its covenant with the one God, Yahweh. Eventually instituting kingly rule, the Hebrew people viewed the king as a paragon of holiness and justice; according to Deuteronomy 17: 14–20, the king was not to possess great wealth or military might; he was to be guided by the covenant's code of law rather than being above the law.

...