Foundations of Democratic Leadership in America

Estrangement (disunity) is a fundamental political reality. It arises from the human condition; that is, a human is a discrete individual physically and intellectually. Human individuals are also social beings who attempt to reach out to each other and overcome their isolation. Community or unity is essential for order which underlines civilization. Leadership establishes the unity relationship among human individuals. Leadership is the ability to mobilize human resources in the pursuit of specific goals. However, there are many different ways of mobilizing people and many different goals to pursue. Throughout political philosophy, democracy and leadership have often been assumed to be in opposition. The notion of democratic leadership has been considered problematic, practically and theoretically. Democratic leadership has also been the subject of contempt or of derision in much of contemporary scholarship