Level 6 Unit 2 Part 3 Reading: The Murder of Caesar
Should a good leader be loved or feared? This question is as relevant to leaders today as it was to Julius Caesar when he took control of Rome in 44 BC. How Caesar treated his enemies is a valuable lesson on forgiveness, arrogance, and absolute power.
After Caesar seized power, he had to decide how to handle those who opposed him. Roman politics had always been bloody. The previous dictator had murdered 5,000 of his rivals and confiscated their property after coming to power. Caesar’s enemies expected a similar punishment.
But Caesar was determined not to rule through fear. If he were to reform the government, he would need the support of the people. So he made a fateful decision: rather than punish or kill his enemies, he offered them mercy and incentives. He didn’t seize their property, and he even rewarded some of them with high-ranking government positions. However, not all of his enemies wanted to be forgiven. Caesar’s rivals came from the aristocracy. Many had held power in the Senate for centuries. By expanding and reforming the Senate, Caesar had shifted power away from the aristocracy and taken it for himself. The high-ranking positions he had given as rewards had no real authority. For the aristocracy, to live without power was not forgiveness, but humiliation.
Caesar should have known that many senators hated him, but his arrogance seems to have blinded him. After he made himself dictator for life, he proclaimed himself a god and consolidated more power. These actions infuriated his enemies and even his allies. However, he still considered many senators to be his loyal friends. He even dismissed his personal security force. Ironically, when he was assassinated, it was his good friend, Brutus, who led the plot.
Perhaps it is better for a leader to be feared. If Caesar hadn’t let his rivals live, he might not have been murdered. But was forgiveness the problem? Caesar’s reforms took power from the aristocracy, and his arrogance angered both friends and enemies. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so arrogant, or acted like a god, he would have survived.
Level 6 Unit 2 Part 3 Reading: Urban Elderly Care in India
Lack of adequate care for senior citizens is a real issue in India that cuts across economic and social strata. Many of us have personally lived through and experienced it with our parents and elders. Most senior citizens, especially those who live independently, are unable to get the care and trusted support they need. As a result, they compromise on their needs and lifestyle. Their children or caregivers are forced to spend disproportionate time, and/or resources to support them. So much so, that many women are forced to stay away from the workforce to take care of elders at home.
The imminent demographic, economic, and social changes that accompany the growing population of senior citizens, together with the rising aspirations of the young, leading to more women in the workforce, are rapidly driving up the magnitude of this problem.
If we look at numbers, India is home to 115 million elderlies, which is more than 8% of the population. Many of us don’t realize it, but that puts India into the category of “aging” countries. While India’s overall population will grow by about 40% from 2006 to 2050, the population of the oldest elderly, 80 plus, will grow 500% over the same period. This should be enough to make one take notice. Engaging with the elderly will become one of the biggest areas of work in the country. Some may see this as a challenge and some as a huge opportunity.
Businesses have attempted to address this only sporadically, with emotional advertising that features a poignant conversation involving an elderly grandparent. But there has been very little effort to provide products and services. The reasons for such apathy, especially among entrepreneurs, are not difficult to guess. Many feel that the elderly are cynical, not open to experiment and not willing to spend. Investors see bigger opportunities for exponential growth in addressing young, upwardly mobile consumers.
Still, I’m left with the question of why aren’t more products and services designed for the elderly?
I sense a problem looking for the solution.
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