TOPIC: Some people believe that in order to be effective, political leaders must yield to public opinion and abandon principle for the sake of compromise. Others believe that the most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
Below, I am sharing my writing on the topic. It is my second practice with the Analytical Writing section. (English is not my first language.)
Political leaders should be committed to principles but not yield to public opinion in order to be effective. A political leader is effective when people are better off in the long run thanks to his/her ruling. Political leadership, like all other leaderships, is not about getting the job done at a given time. Instead, actions that are conducted by a political leader, in their nature, last long than the leader’s given time to rule. Therefore, a political leader has the potential to make a difference in people’s lives that will eventually hurt or benefit them in the long run. It is important that a political leader be committed to principles but not yield to public opinion for three reasons.
First, individuals are easily driven by their own interest than what benefits the common good. For example, introducing a new technology in workplaces that would get a job done faster or with better quality would benefit society in the long run. However, an employee that is likely to lose his/her job because of such technology would oppose it. Since individuals are likely to put their own benefit before what is good for society, public opinion is likely short-lived.
Second, although the majority is represented in a democracy in today’s multinational, and multicultural societies, minorities don’t have the voting power to get a political leader that represent their interest elected. Also, for this reason, political leaders tend to satisfy the majority’s expectations to get elected or re-elected. Even in a democracy, public opinion represents the majority’s opinion but often ignores the minorities’. While a majority’s interest might align with the minorities’ in that society, this is not always the case. A political leader should not abandon certain principles like equality or anti-discrimination for the sake of compromising with the majority.
Third, in a rule of law state, political leaders are bound by law. For example, in a rule of law state, principles like equality, anti-discrimination, and anti-torture are likely placed in the state’s constitution. When a leader gets elected he/she swears to comply with the law including those principles within the law. Therefore, a political leader cannot ignore them for the sake of complying with public opinion.
For all of the reasons given above, political leaders should be consistently committed to principles but not yield to public opinion.
