Better Leadership: the Danger of Arrogance

Good News

America has had a rough decade, but the good news is that we are starting to work on developing the better leadership America needs to turn our country around.

Rethinking Leadership

I started writing about the American Leadership Crisis back in January, 2007. This last year a friend recommended Where Have All the Leaders Gone? by Lee Iacocca, which also came out in 2007. It is an established fact that America is in the midst of a deep and abiding leadership crisis. The Wall Street meltdown is just one manifestation of this crisis.

The TEA Party movement is evidence that Americans are tired of failed leadership. A resurgent conservative movement is more evidence Americans are looking for better leadership.

The Texas Ascendancy Campaign is a plan to fix America's problems by taking action within Texas. You can follow the Texas Ascendant blog, which has a thread called The Texas Leadership Revolution.

This Timeless Way blog will focus now on rethinking leadership. Good leadership is a timeless human need.

The Danger of Arrogance

We inaugurate this new focus by examining the danger arrogance poses to good leadership. Examples of arrogance surround us. I will just pick up yesterday's newspaper and point you to the article U.K. Documents Show Friction With U.S. on Iraq by JOHN F. BURNS, New York Times, November 23, 2009.

Here is a great quote from a British Colonel about American leadership in this article:
“They need to reintroduce dialogue as a tool of command because, although it is easy to speak to Americans face to face and understand each other completely, dealing with them corporately is akin to dealing with a group of Martians. If it isn’t on the PowerPoint slide, it doesn’t happen.”

Here's another great quote:
“The whole system was appalling,” Colonel Tanner said. “We experienced real difficulty in dealing with the American military and civilian organizations who, partly through arrogance and partly through bureaucracy, dictate that there is only one way: the American way.”

The ancient Greeks were very familiar with the human failings of hubris and arrogance. There is the great example of hubris when Xerxes ordered the sea be whipped for disobedience.

Here is another example. When Alexander the Great first invaded Persia, that was when he was most vulnerable and most likely to be defeated. The Persian Governor had a general who him the surest way to defeat Alexander was to deprive him of foraged food: burn the crops, destroy the food. The Governor refused to listen to his expert and Alexander went on to conquer the Persian Empire.

The scorched earth policy defeated Napoleon in Russia and it would have defeated Alexander.

Arrogance shuts off good advice. Good leadership requires expert advice, but arrogance renders good advice worthless.

It is during the formative years of character formation in elementary school that lessons about arrogance and hubris must be taught. An ethics seminar in the Harvard Business school is too late to form good character.

Robert Canright

PS: Please submit your comments in English. Thank you.

Dante on Leadership

Confucianism, an ethical system, offers much to America because it teaches governmental responsibility for the prosperity of its people.

Dante's masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, has an excellent assessment of the importance of moral leaders. The Divine Comedy is comprised of 100 cantos arranged in three parts: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso. In the middle of this massive work of poetry, over 14,000 lines, is Dante's assessment of leadership.

In canto XVI of the Purgatario, Dante asks Marco Lombardo for the source of the world's ills in verses 59 to 64. Dante asks if it is our fate, determined by the stars. Lombardo says no, that we have free will (verses 65 to 79). In verses 80 to 84 Lombardo says the problem is not in the stars, but in ourselves. Then in verses 97 to 109 Lombardo says the source of mankind's ill fortune lies in corrupt leadership, not in an evil human nature.

Mankind's ills flow not from our evil nature, but from our sovereigns who break the laws and strike at the good, according to Dante. This message echoes in Confucianism: (Analects, Book 12, Chapter 18) Chi K'ang Tzu was troubled by thieves, so he asked Confucius for advice. Confucius replied, “If you were not so covetous, people wouldn't steal even if you paid them to steal.”

If corrupt leadership is the source of the world's ills, then moral leaders are the source of peace an prosperity, which is a Confucian teaching. If moral leadership is vital for our safety and prosperity, then obviously morality should be a vital part of the eduction for our young.

Robert

Following is the pertinent text from the Purgatorio. The translation is from Francis F. Cary in the 1800's

Here is the question put to Lombardo:
59 The world indeed is even so forlorn
60 Of all good as thou speak'st it and so swarms
61 With every evil. Yet, beseech thee, point
62 The cause out to me, that myself may see,
63 And unto others show it: for in heaven
64 One places it, and one on earth below.

Here Lombardo says the answer lies with us:
80 To better nature subject, ye abide
81 Free, not constrain'd by that, which forms in you
82 The reasoning mind uninfluenc'd of the stars.
83 If then the present race of mankind err,
84 Seek in yourselves the cause, and find it there.

Here Lombardo accuses our leaders of corruption:
97 Hence it behov'd, the law should be a curb;
98 A sovereign hence behov'd, whose piercing view
99 Might mark at least the fortress and main tower
100 Of the true city. Laws indeed there are:
101 But who is he observes them? None; not he,
102 Who goes before, the shepherd of the flock,...[skip 103]
104 Therefore the multitude, who see their guide
105 Strike at the very good they covet most,
106 Feed there and look no further. Thus the cause
107 Is not corrupted nature in yourselves,
108 But ill-conducting, that hath turn'd the world
109 To evil.....

Review: Moment of Truth by Marc Nuttle

I was impressed by the book Moment of Truth by Marc Nuttle. His book is written to the Christian audience, but is well suited for most conservatives and for all people who believe in limited government.

I see three major themes in this book. (1) He believes a conservative era based on Reagan has run its course and it is time for conservatives to rebuild the conservative movement. (2) He believes people are strongly motivated to improve their world for the sake of their children. (3) He believes it is time for more people to become involved in politics.

On page 25 of his book he has a graph of the 40 year long influence of Ronald Reagan. He discusses the birth of that movement and describes the impact small businessmen had in politics when they felt their businesses were threatened by Hillary Clinton's plans for health care reform.

He has traveled the world working with incipient democratic movements. He found a recurring theme in people involved in politics to give their children a better future. His comments on China were very informative. The Chinese rulers were motivated to improve the lot of their people and they saw Christianity as a positive influence.

If you can get a copy of the book, look at pages 220 -222 for an excellent summary of the book. He has a 3 point call to action: (1) Define yourself and your values, (2) Prioritize your issues, and (3) Communicate your values; lead others in your sphere of influence; illustrate your confidence.

I feel America is in peril because our leaders have lost their way. We must discover or rear-up a new generation of leaders.

All people of good will should be working to fix this country while here is still time to repair it. There is much wisdom in this book applicable to Christians and non-Christians alike.

Robert Canright

Faithfulness and America's Economic Collapse

The Five Virtues of Confucius include "faithfulness," according to some translations. When I first read faithfulness in this list, I wondered what the translator meant by "faithfulness." The only occasions I have heard "faithfulness" mentioned was in the context of marital faithfulness, but that is not a topic in the Analects, so what was meant by faithfulness?

When I read Cicero's "On Duties," I saw that Cicero meant "constancy" when he said "faithfulness." Then I ran across this quote from Cicero: "The great foundation of justice is faithfulness, which consists in being constantly firm to your word, and a conscientious performance of all compacts and bargains."

Wow, faithfulness is the foundation of justice!

Is faithfulness of practical import today? Let's consider the story, "A Money-Fund Manager's Fateful Shift" by Steve Stecklow and Diya Gullapalli in the December 8, 2008 Wall Street Journal (front page). This article describes how Bruce R. Bent started the Reserve Fund, a money market fund, with a commitment to avoid "commercial paper," unsecured short-term corporate debt. Bent started the Reserve Fund, the 1st money market fund, in 1970.

Then Bruce Bent broke faith with his guiding principle and bought commercial paper from Lehman Brothers, a lot of it. Then Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, and in 2008 the Reserve Primary Fund "broke the buck:" its share value dropped below one dollar and its investors lost money. The China Investment Corporation, CIC, lost $5.4 Billion in the Reserve Primary Fund. Even today the website for the Reserve Fund advertises, "Security, liquidity, and peace of mind in one account," but how can you trust them when they have been unfaithful to their guiding principles?

America's economy is in trouble today because too many businessmen have not been faithful to what Walter Lippmann called the Old Gospel of Success. Lippmann quotes Benjamin Franklin as an example of the Old Gospel of Success: "prudent management and frugality will increase any fortune to any degree." (Page 167)

Lippmann's book, The Phantom Public, describes from pages 163 to 168 the complexities of modern business. He describes the business world as a complex, interrelated system. It is a "tangle of distant human relations," "invisibly managed markets," a chain stretching beyond the horizon, an "invisible environment," making impotent efforts to succeed by work and thrift.

Lippmann says these complexities lead to a concentration of economic power that needs to be commanded by a single source. He quotes Goethe's Faust: "And then a mighty work completed stands, one mind suffices for a thousand hands."

This line of reasoning explains Lippmann's New Gospel of Success: "for business success a man must project his mind over an invisible environment."

If there is one thing the Postmodernists have gotten right is that it is dangerous to place too much trust on the power of men's reasoning. Relying on calculated self-interest instead of morality as a compass has crashed our economy.

To restore our prosperity we must rediscover the classic virtues that made us a successful society and hold onto them.

Faithfulness is a timeless virtue.


Robert Canright


PS: At the end of Plato's Republic, Socrates says,
"I advise that we hold fast to the heavenly way and always seek justice and goodness..."
"Holding fast" is faithfulness. The "heavenly way" is the Dao of Heaven. There are Confucian ideas in the Western classics.

The Four Step Process and the Four Greek Virtues

In Chapter 3 of my book, Achieve Lasting Happiness, starting on page 65, I describe the Four Step Process for Self-Transformation.

Plato listed four cardinal virtues in "The Republic." Cicero discussed these virtues in his book, "On Duties" (De Officiis). I have noticed these 4 virtues relate to the Four Step Process for Self-Transformation. Notice I said they are related, that is not to say they are equivalent.

4 Step Process ----> 4 Greek Virtues
============================
"Seek truth" -------> "Wisdom"
"Commit yourself" --> "Courage"
"Live joyfully" -----> "Moderation"
"Share hope" ------> "Justice"

In our postmodern society, I think it is important to realize there can be no wisdom without a belief in truth that exists outside the human mind. Some postmodernists believe there is no truth, that what we call truth is something we create and accept, a social construct.

When our leaders believe they can mandate reality through sheer will power, that is a serious problem, as I mentioned in this blog on January 1, 2009, "Leadership Crisis: Mandating Reality."

I believe a society cannot long endure if it does not believe there is truth in this world.

Robert Canright

I last mentioned the 4 step process on June 29, 2008
The Four Step Process and the Eightfold Path

Leadership Crisis in America: Mandating Reality

NASA engineer Jeffrey Finckenor was quoted in the New York Times saying,

“At the highest levels of the agency, there seems to be a belief that you can mandate reality,” he wrote, “followed by a refusal to accept any information that runs counter to that mandate.”

This refusal to deal with reality has been a long standing feature of our Leadership Crisis. When I first started working as an engineer, decades ago, I was surprised by the gap between reality and the corporation's business plans. I have seen this refusal to deal with reality at many companies.

I remember trying to talk to a corporate vice president about problems with one of his projects, but he refused to listen. A couple of years later that project was shut down, the $25 million expense was written off, and many of the engineers and programmers were laid-off. This failure could have been avoided if problems were faced and solved instead of being ignored. What a waste of time and money that was, but this kind of waste is common in American business.

When leaders refuse to listen to the experts working for them, their projects will either be deficient or will utterly fail. Many of our executives and political leaders believe they can command unrealistic results and force success by sheer will power. NASA lost two satellites to Mars, the Mars Polar Lander and the Mars Climate Orbiter, because Vice President Al Gore decided to just order NASA to cut their budget and shorten their schedule. These failures were caused by the Faster-Better-Cheaper program pushed down NASA's throat by Al Gore. The Challenger Space Shuttle disaster was also caused by willful management.

The U.S.S. Scorpion submarine was lost at sea with 99 crew dead because management decided to use a drastically shortened overhaul schedule, as described in the book, "Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion" by Stephen Johnson. I could go on and on, describing wasted money, wasted opportunities, and wasted lives, but the point is made and a question must be asked.

How can smart people be so stupid?

Hubris, I think, lures our leaders to believe they have god-like powers over the universe.

Hubris wrecked the American economy in the Fall of 2008. The destructive power of hubris is plainly evident, and a willful disregard for reality is symptom of hubris.

The ancient Greeks learned about hubris through plays and historical accounts. The example of Xerxes whipping the sea was an example of hubris. We can teach our children about hubris the same way the ancient Greeks did: though drama, literature, and historical accounts.

It is imperative we include moral instruction in the education of our youth, educating them to be aware of hubris, to be aware of its destructive power, teaching them to recognize hubris in others and in themselves.

Robert Canright

The NYT article referenced was "The Fight Over NASA's Future" by John Schwartz, Tuesday December 30, 2008. It is a good article about NASA's future missions and replacements to the Space Shuttle.

Leadership Crisis in America: Greenspan Lies

On Thursday October 24, 2008, Congress grilled Alan Greenspan about the latest financial meltdown. Here are some quotes from the Wall Street Journal, Friday October 25, 2008.
On the front page, "Greenspan Admits Errors to Hostile House Panel," by Kara Scannell and Sudeep Reddy.

"Mr. Greenspan maintained that no regulator was smart enough to foresee the 'once in a life-time credit tsunami.'"

and

"Anticipating such a crisis 'is more than anybody is capable of judging."

Yet the same issue of the WSJ ran an article on page C1, "Paulson & Co. Scores Again This Year," by Gregory Zuckerman, describing how Paul Johnson was able to foresee the tsunami, anticipate the crisis, and profit from it. Last year Mr. Johnson made $3 Billion personally from the meltdown. His hedge fund, Paulson & Co., made $15 Billion last year.

Clearly, Greenspan is lying to us again.

Robert Canright

Malcolm Gladwell Insults Asians

The New York Times, in "Sociology of Success" by Stephen Kotkin, November 2, 2008, reviews the latest book by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell's previous two books became best sellers by taking ideas were already well known and established, repackaging them as though he had discovered something new, and writing in a light, breezy style meant to be skimmed quickly rather than read carefully.

Now Gladwell, in his latest book, "Outliers: the Story of Success", ventures into a topic broader and more complex than his previous work. Now he fails. He also insults all Asians, as the following quote from this article about his book (paragraph 9):  The Sociology of Success by Stephen Kotkin, NYT, Nov. 1, 2008.

"If some points border on the obvious, others seem a stretch. Asian children’s high scores at math, Mr. Gladwell would have us believe, derive from work in rice paddies. Never mind that few of the test takers or their urban parents in Hong Kong, Singapore or Tokyo have ever practiced wet-rice agriculture. Noting that math test scores correlate with how long students will sit for any kind of exam, Mr. Gladwell points to an Asian culture of doggedness, which he attributes to cultural legacies of rice cultivation. (Paddies require constant effort.)"

Asians owe their success to rice paddies?

It would seem Malcolm Gladwell has no understanding of the Confucian influence on Asian cultures, where studying has been highly regarded for thousands of years.

CONFUCIAN ANALECTS.
BOOK I. HSIO R.
CHAPTER I
1. The Master said, 'Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?'
2. 'Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?'
3. 'Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?'

Let's look at this again:
Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?

This attitude, coupled with the financial rewards and public honors bestowed by Chinese Emperors upon the winners of their national examinations, has over the ages developed the "culture of doggedness" puzzling Gladwell.

The belief that only students who are quick studies can succeed in school is the lazy person's excuse.

Ascribing the academic success of Asians to rice paddies is lazy thinking at best, and racism at worst.

Robert Canrigh

Leadership Crisis in America: Texas Contributes to Housing Debacle

The Sunday, October 19, 2008 New York Times describes how Henry Cisneros of San Antonio contributed to the housing debacle and the sub-prime mortgage disaster. In "Building Flawed American Dreams" by David Streitfeld and Gretchen Morgenson, we can read how Henry G. Cisneros, as Secretary of HUD (Housing and Urban Development) under Clinton pushed sub-prime mortgages. Then he left the government and got on the Board of Directors of KB Home and Countrywide Mortgages, both involved in sub-prime housing.

He made millions on the board of Countrywide. Then he became a developer and sold homes to people who could not afford them.

This is exactly the kind of disastrous leadership Texas needs to eradicate. America is now in a financial crisis because we have been in a leadership crisis for many years. Yes, some Texans have contributed to our economic meltdown. Cisneros is not the only one. Phil Gramm wrecked American banking.

Yet, Texas can take the lead in restoring capable leadership in America. That is the point of the Texas Ascendancy Project: setting a new standard for leadership with integrity.

Robert Canright

David Brooks and Confucianism

David Brooks is a columnist for the New York Times. On Thursday Sept. 11, 2008, he published a column entitled "The Social Animal."

In this column he wrote, "Over the past 30 years, there has been a tide of research in many fields, all underlining one old truth — that we are intensely social creatures, deeply interconnected with one another and the idea of the lone individual rationally and willfully steering his own life course is often an illusion."

This is exactly what I wrote in my book: we need to recognize our connection to our community. Confucianism has a lot to say about relationships between individuals and the community. Both the Analects of Confucius (which are in my book) and the Great Learning have much wisdom on relationships and community.

In my description of The Winding Spring Process of Education I highlight a portion of The Great Learning (the Ta Hsueh, also written as the Da Xue) that describes the interaction of family and community.

Confucianism will make important contributions to America.

Robert Canright

TLR, Rod Dreher, and Ron Paul

Rod Dreher's column on 8/31/08 in the Dallas Morning News was puzzling. He called the Republican party "intellectually moribund" and raised many good examples of how the Republican party does not understand the "root causes of our civilizational crisis." Rod Dreher said, "there are and have been few, if any, effective sources of countercultural resistance from the right," even though Ron Paul and his supporters have resisted the culture of corruption very vigorously.

It is true the Dallas Morning News has effectively censored the Ron Paul Revolution, but Rod Dreher cannot be unaware of its existence. Mr. Dreher is in St. Paul, saying the Republican convention has, "all the brio of the Bataan Death March." I do love Mr. Dreher's way with words, but I wonder why he does not drive over to Minneapolis and observe Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic. Here is the Mission Statement for the Rally for the Republic:

The Campaign for Liberty events planned for August 31 - September 2 will be a celebration of our movement and our supporters, a launch party for the Campaign for Liberty, and a clear call to the Republican Party to return to its roots of limited government, personal responsibility, and protection of our natural rights. The event will run in conjunction with the first two days of the Republican National Convention and will feature top conservative speakers, musicians, and organizations. It will also have an organizational and training function for the Campaign for Liberty and the Freedom Movement.

I am very glad to see a Texan, Ron Paul, working hard to bring integrity back into politics. Integrity must be a part of the Texas Leadership Revolution. America needs better leaders for a better future. Developing better leaders is a concern to Confucians. I'm glad to see a Texan, Ron Paul, leading the charge for a better future.

But I am puzzled. Is Rod Dreher unaware of what is going on in Minneapolis, or is he under orders from Belo Corporation to censor Ron Paul?

Robert

Oregon: Economic Growth without Population Growth

I visited Oregon on vacation. When I started pumping my gas, an attendant ran over and informed me that by state law I was not free to pump my own gas. I had to step aside and let him finish pumping my gas and hand me my receipt.

Oregon obviously lacks economic growth. One of my sisters lives there and told me that people move to Oregon without jobs because it is beautiful. Then they struggle to find employment because there are few jobs available in Oregon.

I read many years ago an article that said people in Oregon did not want their state to become over crowded and polluted like California.

I posted earlier the speculation that a research project for a Nobel Prize in Economics would be economic growth without population growth.

Oregon would be a great laboratory to test methods of growing the economy without growing the population.

Robert

How to Win a Nobel Prize in Economics (Part 1): Economic Growth without Growth

I've said before that Confucians can contribute to economics. The world will listen if you have a nice credential like a Nobel prize in economics. Once you have your prize, people might listen when you tell them there is morality in economics.

If you are a Confucian and studying economics, I suggest you go for the gold: win a Nobel prize. I suggest you might follow in the footsteps of Herbert Simon: study at the University of Chicago and propose something obvious as a new idea.

Have you ever heard the joke, "when all else fails, lower your standards"? Simon got the Nobel Prize in Economics for calling that "satisficing." I'm not joking! Check the web links.

Here is an obvious problem that has not been solved: Describe how one achieves steady economic growth without population growth.

Look at how the American economy is run: it assumes a continuously growing population. Picture yourself with a baby diaper factory. If there are more babies born this year than last year, then you can sell more product this year. If the population growth goes to zero, then so does your growth, unless you take away sales from another manufacturer.

Warren Buffet was in a panel discussion after the broadcast of the I.O.U.S.A. movie. Buffet said that the pie was always growing. That's what he was talking about: the economy grows because the population grows. This is the foundation of the world's economic system.

But the population growth in some European countries has turned to zero or gone negative (a shrinking population). Some European countries have avoided economic innovation by importing people from the Middle-East to fuel their population and economic growth. The American Ruling Class has done the same, flooding the country with immigrants and telling the American people to embrace diversity.

The science fiction writer Robert Silverberg wrote, "The World Inside," describing a world culture with over-population. Science fiction writers might find an extremely crowded world an interesting subject for fiction, but the world's resources are finite and cannot support infinite population growth. This is just a fact.

Want a Nobel Prize? Here's a Noble Prize in Economics just waiting to be picked up: describe how we can have a continuously growing economy without population growth.

Robert Canright

In 2012 I had an idea on how we can have a continuously growing economy without population growth:
Economic Growth Without Population Increase Sunday, April 8, 2012
Here are my previous posts on economics in this blog
December 23, 2007: Confucianism and Economics
January 18, 2008: More on Economics and Confucianism
May 30, 2008: Confucianism, Economics and Finance

TLR: the Texas Leadership Revolution

America desperately needs better leaders. We need leaders truly grounded in morality, having a real sense for justice and civic virtue.

America needs common moral ground. To avoid religious divisiveness, I searched for a system of secular ethics that could serve as a common moral ground for the multicultural society we have today. I believe Confucianism is a good candidate. Confucianism is a philosophical movement, not a religion. I have discovered that Texans find it difficult to consider Confucianism, so I have been studying Stoicism.

I believe Cicero's book, On Duties (De Officiis) has much to offer us. Consider this quote from the reviewer at Amazon.com: In "On Duties," Cicero drives a dagger in the heart of today's ills.

TLR, the Texas Leadership Revolution depends on moral leaders. And I don't mean frauds who tell fake stories about walking on the beach with Billy Graham, I mean men and women who manifest the leadership described by Cicero in his book, On Duties.

Robert Canright

Benevolence and Bobby Fischer

Jen (Ren) is a key Confucian virtue. I ran across a reference to the kindness Pal Benko showed to Bobby Fischer. Pal Benko had qualified to play in the 1970 World Chess Championship cycle while Bobby Fischer did not, because Fischer was stubborn and skipped an important chess tournament.

Yes, Bobby Fischer was not supposed to play in that series of chess matches because he did not do what was required to qualify. Pal Benko showed benevolence to Bobby Fischer, giving Fischer the spot Benko had earned. The rest is history. Fischer was already on a winning streak. He had won his last seven chess games. Fischer obliterated Mark Tiamanov 6-0, even though Tiamanov had defeated him last time they played. Next he defeated Bent Larsen 6-0. In the semifinal game, he defeated Tigran Petrosian in their 1st game.

Fischer at this point had won 20 games straight against grandmasters. Only World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz had done better with a 25 game winning streak. Fischer went on to beat ex-World Champion Petrosian and the reigning champion Boris Spassky.

Bobby Fischer became the only American to officially hold the title of World Champion of Chess, and America was swept up in a chess playing frenzy, because of Benko's benevolence to Bobby.

Robert

The Four Step Process and the Eightfold Path

In Chapter 3 of my book, Achieve Lasting Happiness, starting on page 65, I describe the Four Step Process for Self-Transformation.

Four Step Process for Self-Transformation:
1. Seek truth
2. Commit yourself
3. Live joyfully
4. Share hope

Recently, when thinking about the Eightfold Path, I noticed an overlap between the 4 step process and the 8 fold path.

The Eightfold Path of Buddhism
1. Right view
2. Right intent
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

Look at how the 4 line up with the 8:

1. Seek truth --> Right view (1)
2. Commit yourself --> Right intent (2)
3. Live joyfully --> Right action (4)
4. Share hope --> Right speech (3)

The top half of the Eightfold Path is universal.

Comparing the Eightfold Path to the Four Step Process illuminates both.

Robert

References:
Here is a website on the Eightfold Path
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html

Going through the archives of the Timeless Way Yahoo Group, here are the first 4 posts related to this 4 step process. They are a couple of years old.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TimelessWayDallas/message/14
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TimelessWayDallas/message/15
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TimelessWayDallas/message/21
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TimelessWayDallas/message/25

Good Leaders have a Noble Spirit

The Wall Street Journal, Tue. June 10, 2008, had a review of a book, Nobility of Spirit by Rob Riemen. The review was written by Darrin M. McMahon. To bolster the legitimacy of this book, we are told the idea came from Thomas Mann's essay, "Adel des Geistes," which is "Nobility of Spirit" in English.

In Dr. McMahon's review, he says of Mr. Riemen, "It is the role of thinkers and writers, he [Riemen] believes, to serve as guardians of our spiritual nature and as custodians of timeless values..."

I must heartily disagree: It is your role to serve as guardian of your own spiritual nature and custodian of those timeless values you treasure. No one can do that for you.

I do very much appreciate the reference to "timeless values." My book, "Achieve Lasting Happiness, Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Life," is predicated on the belief that lasting happiness is rooted in timeless values.

McMahon says Riemen's book, "is intended as a meditation ... on the forces ... needed to sustain..." civilization. Yet, I think it is not so much ideas that sustain civilization as parents and teachers who sustain civilization. I've taught in lower economic schools, and there truly is a battle between civilization and misanthropy, between the noble spirit and the mean spirit. The battle goes on daily, and its heroes lack appreciation and support.

When I taught in the public schools, I saw many unhappy children having no idea of how to have a happy life, which is why I wrote my book and make my efforts to promote a noble life.

To appreciate how the noble spirit can give us better leaders, I suggest an alternative to Mr. Riemen's: I suggest Cicero. I suggest his De Officiis, "On Duties." The term Cicero uses is "greatness of spirit" instead of "nobility of spirit".

The book review says Mr. Riemen came upon the idea for his book at a dinner party. I was led to Cicero by my studies in Confucianism. I was looking for people and ideas from Western culture that correspond to Confucian ideals, and studied Cicero's work, On Duties, finding it very compatible with Confucian ideals.

If the next generation of American leaders would study Cicero's book, "On Duties," we would have a much brighter future.

Robert

Confucianism, Economics and Finance

The Wall Street Journal has run a 3-part article about the collapse of Bear Stearns, a large investment bank (the articles ran on Tuesday May 27, 2008, May 28, and May 29). That reminded me that Confucianism has traditionally been concerned with the physical welfare of the people, as I mentioned in my New Confucian blog, Nov. 29, 2007.

In this Timeless Way blog, on Dec. 4, 2007, I discussed of moral behavior on Wall Street. Of course, moral behavior is very important to Confucians, but traditionally Confucians have stayed away from trade and commerce.

On Dec. 23, 2007, I mentioned that ancient Confucian discourses on the Salt and Iron debates and the Well-field system of agriculture show Confucians have always had an appreciation for the impact of economics on the peoples prosperity.

On Jan. 18, 2008, I mentioned the Confucian scholar Yan Yuan (a.k.a. Yan Xizhai, 1635 - 1704) discussed finance, labor and risk management.

In 2000, Dr. Wei-Bin Zhang published On Adam Smith and Confucius, the Theory of Moral Sentiments and the Analects, ISBN 1-56072-765-9 (Nova Science Publishers, Commack, New York).

So for thousands of years there has been a recognition by Confucian scholars of the importance of economics, but economics has always been a small topic within Confucianism. I think it should take on more importance.

Consider in addition to the collapse of Bear Stearns, the collapse of the investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert and the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management. These investment banks and hedge funds do not get the press coverage that Enron, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen got, but they all form a picture of an American financial system teetering on the edge of complete collapse due to incompetent leadership.

Confucians need to take their interests in ethics, leadership, and the prosperity of the people, connect it with a love of scholarship, and direct this interest to the real world of Wall Street Finance.

If the American financial system suffers a complete breakdown, which can happen, the entire world economy would sink and people around the world would suffer. Too many leaders in finance have developed moral blindness as a by-product of unbridled greed.

Confucians can and should bring the light of morality back into Wall Street.

Robert

PS, the Wall Street Journal article I mentioned in the beginning was titled, "Lost Opportunities Haunt Final Days of Bear Stearns" by Kate Kelly

Leadership Crisis in America: February, Part 3, Texas and the World

There was so much scandal in February that I have had to blog in 3 parts. The theme in today's blog is "Texas and the World."

On February 23, 2008, three British bankers were convicted of fraud in connection to their work dealings with Enron. Yes, because David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby worked with the Texas company Enron, they are now going to jail.

I want to emphasize that when Texans are involved with swindles, we can can hurt people around the world.

We had bank fraud committed right here in Plano, Texas some years ago and I'm guessing the perpetrators thought, "so what, it's just numbers in a ledger." But we have to think along the lines of Emmanual Kant's catagorical imperative: what if every body cheated?

Our Texan President permitted the bankers here to commit massive fraud with sub-prime mortgages. Our country is now in a recession. The Federal Reserve Bank is bailing out investment bankers. And the disease of Mortgage Backed Securities is rocking banks around the world.

On February 19, 2008, Julia Werdigier wrote, "Brown Defends Takeover of Ailing British Banker," in the New York Times. The Northern Rock Bank in England was failing because they believed American bankers were honest and responsible. The government had to nationalize it to keep it open.

That was February. On March 23, 2008, the Financial Times of London reported that the central banks of Europe might have to buy Mortgage Backed Securities (MBSs) to reduce the damage done to European banks by the American sub-prime mortgage swindle.

We must understand that what we do matters. Fraud committed in Texas can hurt people across America and around the world.

You cannot be a competent leader if you are unethical. Ethics is a core competence.

We are in a Leadership Crisis. We desperately need better leaders, ethical leaders.

Robert

Obama and Confucianism

Barack Obama gave a speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008 in response to repeated airing on news broadcasts of Jeremiah Wright's inflammatory damnation of America. The speech is 37 minutes long. You ought to read it or hear it. You can do both at this link to the New York Times, although I suggest you look for a website that allows you to download the speech in its entirety so you can listen to in uninterrupted by data stream buffering.

When he says that he cannot break his relationship with Jeremiah Wright because, "he is like family to me," he is expressing a Confucian quality.

Chang Yun-Shik, in "Mutual Help and Democracy in Korea," says (p. 99):

... a social bond once established is not supposed to be terminated.

Within the uiri network of interpersonal relationships, emphasis on the person is likely to override impersonal concerns of the wider world... should there be a conflict between the two. Shifting loyalty from the person to nonpersonal concerns does not take place easily.

When Barack Obama said he disagrees with Wright on some issues, but cannot disown him because he is like family, he means there is a personal social bond that is not to be broken, as described by Chang in his article about Korean Confucianism.

A lot of Confucian ideas are rooted in our humanity, making them international in nature and applicable to American culture.

By the way, there is a higher density of Confucians in Indonesia than America and Obama spent part of his youth in Indonesia.

Robert

The article mentioned is from Confucianism for the Modern World, Edited by Daniel A. Bell and Hahm Chaibong, Cambridge, 2003.