Rufus Burrow, Jr.’s “Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ethical Leadership” appears in Telos 182 (Spring 2018), a special issue commemorating the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. Read the full article at the Telos Online website, or purchase a print copy of the issue in our online store. Individual subscriptions to Telos are now available in both print and online formats.
James MacGregor Burns, a pioneer in leadership theory, was certain that many people lack clarity about the meaning and place of leadership. “The confusion,” he said, “will continue as long as we fail to distinguish leadership from brute power, leadership from propaganda, leadership from manipulation, leadership from pandering, leadership from coercion.” What we have seen during and after the 2016 presidential election cycle in the United States is evidence of this ambiguity and confusion. In addition, political operatives and other presumed leaders fail to exhibit integrity, character, civility, courage, and a sense of obligation to the highest and best values. Instead, what we see persistently, particularly in the Donald J. Trump presidency, are efforts to cater to the worst in citizens, especially uneducated, unemployed, and underemployed white working-class people. For a long time I have wondered whether a study of Martin Luther King, Jr., (1929–1968) might reveal important lessons about the nature and meaning of leadership, leadership that reasonable people eagerly follow. This essay seeks to clarify how King understood leadership.
