Issue43 victors小组 第四次作业

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TOPIC: ISSUE43 - "To be an effective leader, a public official must maintain the highest ethical and moral standards."

Whether the highest ethical and moral standards are prerequisite for an effective leader or not? The speaker asserts so. However, in my opinion, while high ethical and moral standards can be helpful for a leader to some extant, efficiency is not the whole story of these standards, sometimes even different from them.

Admittedly, these standards can give much profit to a leader and his people. Since a public official’s work involves in getting a group of people cooperated, a leader with highest ethical and moral standards can attractive more people supporting him/her, then, a good chance will be created to achieve efficiency. What’s more, an official with the highest ethical and moral standards will always conform to his people’s need and profit. He is unlikely to do things harmful to his people and country. Again, when his people realize that he is a reliable person, more people will help him to pave his way to efficiency.

However, while highest ethical and moral standards can smooth one’s way to get efficiency, they are not prerequisite. Adolph Hitler is a perfect example. Hitler managed to get German society rallied behind him: the judicial, the educational, the industrial and the economic establishments gave him their support. He imposed gigantic hope as an immutable ideal that motivated his nation almost until the end. But the hundreds and thousands of Jews killed by his mysterious hate told the whole world that Hitler had no ethical standard, and his comrades assassinated by him criticized his little moral standard. But, one thing we can never refuse to admit, that is, he was an effective leader, yet an devil at the same time.

Sometimes, a public leader needs sacrifice his ethical and moral standards to get efficiency. In today’s democratic world, it seldom happens, but in ancient China, it was an ordinary story. Since there was a tradition that a king would give his nation to his eldest son who were not necessarily the most ambitious, smart, intelligent, aggressive and puissant among his brothers, the one who was more suitable to govern the nation needed abandon his ethical and moral standards which means the death of his elder brothers to get the power to be an effective leader. Ironically, most of these kings brought his people a more prosperous economy and a more stable society.

Still, a leader’s ethical and moral standards should stay within his people’s criterion, while not necessarily are the highest ones. Otherwise, he will be overturned, let alone being efficient. Richard Nixon’s Watergate Scandal pricked the US’ sensitive nerve on “no cheating”, he could only have a narrow escape from impeachment by his resignation. Though the German Premier Scherold’s unstable marriages would bring him much trouble in most countries, in the European Continent, where people hold a curious tradition that tolerates the leaders’ private relationship, he goes well with his electorates.

In conclude, a public leader needs to maintain ethical and moral standards which meet his people’s criterion to get enough support, but not necessarily the highest ones. While high standards can help to achieve efficiency, they are not prerequisite for efficiency.