Collective disasters stem from leaders neglecting othersâ sacrifices, not from followersâ disobedience
Evidence
Yet common sense shows that the majority of collective (political) disasters occur because no attempt has been made to avoid useless sacrifice, or because manifestly no account has been taken of the sacrifices of others and their lives have been gambled with. Everyone has heard officers from the front recount how the soldiers were quite ready to risk their lives when necessary, but how on the other hand they would rebel when they saw themselves overlooked. For example: a company would be capable of going for days without food because it could see that it was physically impossible for supplies to get through; but it would mutiny if a single meal was missed as a result of neglect or bureaucratism, etc. â Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 654
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: The âneglect vs. impossibilityâ distinction for sacrifice maps onto what leadership means in hegemony theory â legitimacy depends on demonstrated necessity, not mere command. Connects to Gramsciâs broader consent-vs-coercion framework.