It would be hard to deny that leaders are prominent parts of our world. From a school club to the governments of world superpowers, leaders are an integral part of how humans live. But are they truly as essential as we’ve decided they are? Would we be better off without them?

It’s difficult to say with absolute certainty because leaders have become so deeply ingrained in any governing body. However, there are many examples that can tell us what the truth is. In reality, we need leaders, but we also need to be careful who those leaders are.

Ancient Athens was once the shining symbol of democracy, a rule by the people for the people. There were rules and safeguards to make sure that those governing would act only in the interest of the people, and if any tried to gain too much power, he would be stopped in his tracks. It seemed to be the perfect system that would act as a beacon for all civilizations to take after.

But something happened. Fear and greed set in. Tyrants were allowed to rule and Athens began to crumble. The philosopher Plato openly criticized democracy, saying that it was a system doomed to fail and in many respects, he had very good points.

Most people can agree that just because a large group of people think that something is right does not necessarily mean that it is. Mass riots are obvious examples that just because a group of people thinks something is right does not mean that they should be the ones to see it through.

A person can be a very intelligent, reasonable being, capable of listening and discussing ideas without drastic measures. As more people become involved, however, the chances of something drastic taking place greatly increase. It becomes less about solving the problem and more about winning an argument.

A single person is not without their flaws. Regardless, a single person can be reasoned with. A single person can unite diverse groups of people. A single person can step over boundaries. A single person can change things for the better.

There are definitely examples of bad leaders though. Leaders with too much power leading fearful masses tend to cause trouble. Some of history’s greatest disasters can be chalked up to the misguided actions of a greedy person in power and a people unwilling to keep them in check.

So this is where the people come in. It’s our job to make sure that we choose the right leaders. No person is without fault, but this doesn’t mean that they’re incompetent. We need leaders to unite and represent us. But we need to pick the right leaders to be those representatives. It’s their job to lead us; it’s our job to keep them going straight.