Why do people follow leaders? Is it human nature to follow leaders? If so, then why?

Not really an expert on human psyche or anything, but I'll take a crack at it:

Perhaps it is because we are not all subject to the same life experiences. Some people are subject to lives that leave them with little to no self-confidence or ability to act with assertion. Others have those abilities, and in situations that require that action be taken, humans tend to get behind those with such abilities since they tend to be the skills required to handle such conditions (as opposed to, neurotic behavior and indecisiveness).

I could be wrong, though.

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[quote=Pluto;159112]Why do people follow leaders? Is it human nature to follow leaders? If so, then why?[/QUOTE ]

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i f you dont like sombody and dont follow them then there wont be leaders. People follow Barack Obama becuase h e are leader.
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most ppl follow leaders because of a weakness in there hearts.

not saying they are losers or anything liek that .

but they need the structure in their life.
they need a road to follow so they dont get lost in the woods so to speak..

its kinda like being pampered princcess. you have no ideas of you own on how to do things but when things go wrong you have someone to blame.

Well, even the strongest of men follow leaders in some respect. Given the unknown into which we are thrust, we choose to look to those who we think tread better upon that road, or can guide us toward our means.

Why do we rally behind political leaders? Part of it is human psyche; part of it is practical. Fact of the matter is, a leaderless society just does not work. History has proven time and again that it doesn't work; just try to imagine an army without a general, or any officers for that matter. Without a leader, we are reduced to mobs and a gross diffusion of responsibility that tends toward chaos. Man prefers order to chaos; he prefers safety to freedom. Thus, we elect (by democracy or by simply allowing a group/man to take over) to hand our power over to those who seize it or those who strike us as worthy of wielding it.

If you look at other primates you clearly see leadership. We are animals. Our species prefers a structured society with leaders. Some are born leaders and some are born followers.

I believe some of us follow others because that is what is most natural to us. Trying to over-analyze it doesn't really make sense... just look at the basics. It's how we have always operated.

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Government schools.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

What do you mean by government schools?

Perhaps following leaders was once a survival trait. That is, groups organized thusly were more likely to survive than groups whose members all pretty much went their on way. Look how strong Nazi Germany became when the whole country blindly followed one leader type.

I only meant to say that I do not think that government schools really prepare children for life as an adult the way they should. I do not think that they teach people to think for themselves and as such most of the people I know look at our politicians as actual leaders which, as far as I'm concerned, they are not. To me, a leader is someone who, by example, makes the people themselves feel like they can accomplish anything. They inspire people to look for the best within themselves. Our so called leaders today pound quite a different philosophy into our heads. On the right you have those who tell us that we should count on the government to keep us safe and that Jesus can help us find peace. On the left are those who tell us that the government is responsible for our well being and that it is their duty to take care of us. This is not leading. When I hear a democrat tell me about universal health care I don't feel like there is a leader who is inspiring me to be the best that I can be. I feel like there is a baby sitter who is there to feed and change me. I think that this line of thinking is at least partially due to our government run education. I was government educated and I did not really care to study what was going on around me until I started reading and learning on my own. My friends who still do not care are the same friends that do not do any outside reading or learning. I think that there is a reason why we have so many apathetic citizens who care only about television and sports, and who do not care about what our policy makers are doing. I was talking about politics and such with a friend of mine the other night when another friend interupted and said that he didn't give a shit about politics or what they, the politicians do. It is a sad thing, at least to me.

But basically that is it. I think government schools have prepared us to be nice little subjects who do not question authority or think for ourselves. That is why we have such an appalling excuse for leadership these days.

There is a book by John Taylor Gatto called The Underground History of American Education which I am still trying to fact check and research that offers a pretty grim picture of how our cumpulsory school system is working. But like everything else, check it out for yourself and see what you think.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

maybe because our leaders mask the truth and alter our emotions by giving the false impression that we as a society are superior and we need to "HELP" the less fortunate. politician try to make us believe what there are doing is moral and ethical when most the time there is a alternative objective behind there ideology ADDED: i also agree with frynbender about schooling givng children pro-government propaganda and false information regarding histories events.

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