I've been hearing a lot of talk that the country needs to come together in unity during the covid-19 pandemic. Such talk is aimed at those with a rational basis for their dislikes and have the temerity to criticise the leadership of Boris Johnson - a person who his apologists maintain can't do any wrong, despite decades of documented, hard evidence to the contrary that shows he has been weighed, he has been measured and he has been found wanting.
If one has experience of serving under good leaders, or if one has even a cursory knowledge of the writings of Sun Tzu, Clausewitz or Machiavelli, one realises that good leadership is what produces unity. Unity, in relation to leadership, cannot appear ex nihilo - it requires someone to exhibit the qualities of leadership; unity is contingent on good leadership and flows from it. It's as relevant to human society as it is to the animal kingdom.
Disunity, on the other hand, goes hand-in-hand with a lack in confidence in the leadership, a confused goal or a fundamental disagreement on policy. The demand for unity, where it's evidently absent, is usually a mask to cover ineptitude and similar to the accusations of 'traitor' levied by some at those not showing 100%, total devotion to Brexit, specifically the judiciary. Such calls are an attempt to close down any debate, thereby facilitating that leader with zero scrutiny. That way lies totalitarianism, whether left or right wing. One must therefore enquire into the causes of the absence of unity and address those causes.
Unity does not require that citizens automatically cheerlead a government when the leader is shown to be wanting in trust. Boris and his government may well be the epitome of truthfulness at this time (although that's highly unlikely, as evidenced by the blame game and backtracking that's going on), but he's already tainted by a long history of deception and evading scrutiny, making it extremely difficult for all but his most dedicated sycophants to believe anything emanating from his mouth is anywhere even remotely aligned with truth. Such is the current level of distrust in Johnson that some question whether he actually contracted covid-19 at all. That said, Johnson's greatest threat at present is not from the opposition, but senior Tories and rebels within his own party who are questioning his leadership ability and criticising his complacency.
His supporters, in their hearts, know he's a congenital liar, but they simply can't admit it. Post hoc rationalisations are used to avoid having to change their minds in the glare of inconvenient facts they choose to ignore, precisely because they aligned themselves with a deeply flawed, weak and narcissistic leader who harnessed lies in order to achieve what he persuaded them that they wanted - they have become entwined with his weltanschauung. Consequently the blame for a failure of unity is diverted to those having no rationally based trust in a congenital liar. It's essentially transference.
When government strategy - developed by Dom Cummings, about which there is no secret and which is cheered on by sections of the press in its implacable hostility to taxes - is to dismantle the 'Nanny State', Big Government and the Civil Service, it's not surprising that such government and its departments are in disarray when a crisis necessitating the 'Nanny State', Big Government and trust in the leader hits. Some say that it's no bad thing that the Civil Service is getting a shake up - but now we see the consequences of what happens when there's a culture of fear within it, along with allegations of bullying by ministers. We see what happens when public services, predominantly the NHS, have been starved of funding for a decade. Be careful what you wish for, as it will come back to bite you in the bum in an unexpected manner.
When a leader is known for his or her cavalier attitude to truth, there is no trust or confidence in the leader; where there is no trust in the leader, there is no unity. Unity does not mean unswerving fealty while simultaneously ignoring awkward facts, which is what those demanding unity actually mean by unity. They are demanding a lack of scrutiny and condoning the doctrine of 'the end justifies the means', which was attributed to Machiavelli, although he didn't use those exact words. That doctrine can be used to justify immoral action to attain a moral outcome - but there is a distinct and historic lack of morals or moral goals within the current leadership.
However, there is unity, but not in support of the government. There's an unprecedented and almost unanimous unity in the nation's support for frontline workers; NHS staff, delivery drivers, care workers, the police, the elderly, the poor, those volunteering for vaccine trials, etc. Unity of support lies there because we now see this section of society's true value - it's a unity of values, goals, methods and outcomes, not a mindless, unquestioning unity around a single person of dubious virtue.
Some advice was given to Captain Adye, an officer joining the staff of Lord Raglan (a younger son of the Duke of Beaufort), the terminally incompetent Commander in Chief of the British forces at the Crimea, in order to cover up his incompetence; “Never trouble Lord Raglan more than is absolutely necessary with details, listen carefully to his remarks, try to anticipate his wishes and at all times make as light as possible of difficulties.”
Unity does not require that citizens automatically cheerlead a government when the leader is shown to be wanting in trust. Boris and his government may well be the epitome of truthfulness at this time (although that's highly unlikely, as evidenced by the blame game and backtracking that's going on), but he's already tainted by a long history of deception and evading scrutiny, making it extremely difficult for all but his most dedicated sycophants to believe anything emanating from his mouth is anywhere even remotely aligned with truth. Such is the current level of distrust in Johnson that some question whether he actually contracted covid-19 at all. That said, Johnson's greatest threat at present is not from the opposition, but senior Tories and rebels within his own party who are questioning his leadership ability and criticising his complacency.
His supporters, in their hearts, know he's a congenital liar, but they simply can't admit it. Post hoc rationalisations are used to avoid having to change their minds in the glare of inconvenient facts they choose to ignore, precisely because they aligned themselves with a deeply flawed, weak and narcissistic leader who harnessed lies in order to achieve what he persuaded them that they wanted - they have become entwined with his weltanschauung. Consequently the blame for a failure of unity is diverted to those having no rationally based trust in a congenital liar. It's essentially transference.
When government strategy - developed by Dom Cummings, about which there is no secret and which is cheered on by sections of the press in its implacable hostility to taxes - is to dismantle the 'Nanny State', Big Government and the Civil Service, it's not surprising that such government and its departments are in disarray when a crisis necessitating the 'Nanny State', Big Government and trust in the leader hits. Some say that it's no bad thing that the Civil Service is getting a shake up - but now we see the consequences of what happens when there's a culture of fear within it, along with allegations of bullying by ministers. We see what happens when public services, predominantly the NHS, have been starved of funding for a decade. Be careful what you wish for, as it will come back to bite you in the bum in an unexpected manner.
When a leader is known for his or her cavalier attitude to truth, there is no trust or confidence in the leader; where there is no trust in the leader, there is no unity. Unity does not mean unswerving fealty while simultaneously ignoring awkward facts, which is what those demanding unity actually mean by unity. They are demanding a lack of scrutiny and condoning the doctrine of 'the end justifies the means', which was attributed to Machiavelli, although he didn't use those exact words. That doctrine can be used to justify immoral action to attain a moral outcome - but there is a distinct and historic lack of morals or moral goals within the current leadership.
However, there is unity, but not in support of the government. There's an unprecedented and almost unanimous unity in the nation's support for frontline workers; NHS staff, delivery drivers, care workers, the police, the elderly, the poor, those volunteering for vaccine trials, etc. Unity of support lies there because we now see this section of society's true value - it's a unity of values, goals, methods and outcomes, not a mindless, unquestioning unity around a single person of dubious virtue.
Some advice was given to Captain Adye, an officer joining the staff of Lord Raglan (a younger son of the Duke of Beaufort), the terminally incompetent Commander in Chief of the British forces at the Crimea, in order to cover up his incompetence; “Never trouble Lord Raglan more than is absolutely necessary with details, listen carefully to his remarks, try to anticipate his wishes and at all times make as light as possible of difficulties.”
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