Stumbling Blocks to Social Progress

Reflections and warnings on the "Great Leader" phenomenon

In the historical process of mankind's struggle for national independence and national reconstruction, some truly great leaders have indeed emerged. They stood up at the critical moment of historical turning point, united the people, promoted social transformation, and made indelible contributions.

However, in the 21st century, a dangerous trend has quietly emerged in some countries and regions: the phenomenon of "artificially creating great leaders." In order to prolong their personal ruling period and bypass institutional restrictions, some ordinary bureaucrats or technical politicians deliberately create mythical images such as "wise leaders" and "national saviors." In this process, the media is manipulated into a single propaganda tool, history is selectively interpreted, political myths continue to expand, and personality cults replace institutional legitimacy.

What is more serious is that under this political structure, criticism is suppressed, public opinion is manipulated, and the supervision mechanism is hollowed out. The rationality of the system retreats to the background, and personal will becomes the main axis of the country's operation. This practice not only violates the basic principles of modern civilized politics, but also deeply erodes the social structure.

The artificial worship of the "great leader" is essentially a phenomenon of social regression. A truly healthy society must rely on institutional feedback mechanisms - including press freedom, judicial independence, opposition party supervision and regular power changes. Only when these mechanisms work well can society have the ability to self-correct and make sustainable progress.

In modern civilized society, leaders are never gods who are high above, but "public managers" who are bound by law and subject to public questioning. In developed countries, there is almost no leader who relies on "deification movement" to consolidate power. On the contrary, it is the diversity of public opinion, public criticism and institutional checks and balances that jointly promote social prosperity and the maturity of the rule of law.

On the other hand, those countries with closed information and backward systems are often the places where the "great leader" phenomenon is rampant. The rise of personality cult is often accompanied by the collapse of the system, power is no longer restricted, society gradually loses vitality, economic innovation stagnates, and people's lives fall into long-term stagnation or even regression. In the end, not only politics stagnates, but culture also loses creativity, and the country falls into a comprehensive dilemma.

Take Russia as an example. It could have become a model of modern institutional transformation. If President Putin had taken the initiative to abdicate after ten years in power and handed over power to a more suitable successor, and continued to pay attention to the development of Russia, which he deeply loves, as an elder, he could have become a model of political civilization. However, the fact is that he constantly amended the constitution, extended his term of office, suppressed public opinion, and weakened checks and balances, which led to political stagnation, diplomatic isolation, and the quagmire of war in Russia. The country gradually fell into a development dilemma. The continued dominance of personal will has plunged the country into the countercurrent of history.

This reality has sounded a wake-up call for the world today: the fate of a country cannot rely on a certain strong "great man"; real social progress must rely on the system - the authority of the law, the checks and balances of power, the freedom of public opinion and the term limit.

History can be guided by leaders, but the future must be guaranteed by the system. A truly powerful country has never relied on the "greatness" of one person, but on the rational operation of a whole system and the joint participation of the people. The reality of the world today fully proves that artificial "great leaders" are actually stumbling blocks to social civilization and national development (This article is purely academic discussion, and I do not hold any political stance, hereby declare).

Peter Lee In Toronto