A Tale of Voluntary Servitude

Let’s play Follow the Leader

Follow the Leader is an imitation game for children : everyone lines up behind a leader and imitates whatever the leader does ; if you can’t do what the leader does, you’re out ; when there’s only one person left, that person becomes the leader and the game starts again.

To be a social or a political leader nowadays is to have influence over others. This influence can be real and the object of a willing contract between leaders and followers, or imaginary when the leader makes followers believe that following is their only option. So a leader is someone who seeks trust and even faith from followers while establishing their leadership, but who, in order to maintain that leadership, also knows how to instil unease and even fear in followers should they doubt or question what the leader says.

That said, an authoritarian leader may be feared but also be the target of sarcastic remarks – even if these are only to be uttered within the hearing of trusted colleagues or fellow followers. When this tendancy gathers momentum, the vision of the leader can change. What started out as sarcasm can become criticism so the leader can be seen as incompetent, then abusive, and even illegitimate. People may begin to doubt and ask themselves if such a leader deserves to be followed.

Replacement becomes an option. Who could do better, given the chance? Who is willing to take over from the disapproved tyrant as a fairer, more enlightened leader? In spite of the oppression and injustice which may be part of the tyrant’s regime, people often prefer to simply Follow the Leader.

The following story is about followers and their leader. It is purely fictional, of course, and any resemblance to real persons or events is purely coincidental.

WHO IS THE LEADER HERE?

Once upon a time there was a Mighty Leader who was greatly feared. This leader required his followers to be attentive and obedient at all times.

One morning he woke up and gave an unexpected order.
– Bring me a book, he said. For today I shall dress !

This created panic. All his followers ran in every direction to satisfy this demand, but it was no simple matter to find a book in the Mighty Leader’s chamber. All his followers, that is, with the exception of one man. He could be seen down on one knee, fastening his shoelace in an attempt to dissimulate an irrepressible urge to laugh out loud.

The Mighty Leader saw this and immediately questioned the man.

– You there, kneeler ! Is there something you find funny ?

The kneeling man struggled to his feet, desperately trying to recover his serenity because he knew that being directly addressed by the Mighty Leader was an exceptional privilege. Finally ready, he cleared his throat before answering.

– No, Mighty Leader, he said. Of course not. It’s just that … I thought I heard you say that you … Mighty Leader, did you actually say that you wanted a book to … well, to dress yourself !?

As he finished speaking, unable to control himself completely, the man let slip the tiniest of giggles, a giggle which was barely audible.

From the bed where he was sitting the Mighty Leader could be seen with a hand cupped around one ear, as if patiently listening to catch a sound – a laugh? – which he couldn’t quite hear. He shook his head, coming back to his senses, then spoke in a calm, controlled voice.

– That’s strange, the Mighty Leader began, I thought I heard laughter. But maybe it was just something I imagined or invented. I have a gift for inventing. As a boy, I was always inventing. I even dreamed of a career as a great inventor, but I took a different path and became the feared and trusted leader you now see. Here, looking hard at the man, he paused before continuing. And no-one laughs at the fearde and trusted leader. They follow. So remember that before you start laughing at your leader, because you know what will happen if you do.

The follower nodded. Like everybody else, he knew only too well that laughing at the Mighty Leader could have terrible, irreversible consequences.

The Mighty Leader himself nodded in turn and then took a deliberate, deep breath before asking the question the follower had heard speak of before.

– So tell me : who is the leader here ?

Standing up straight and speaking in a calm, controlled voice, the man answered.

– You are the leader here, O Mighty Leader. Reading adorns the Mighty Leader’s mind and you are our leader. We have no leader but you.

– Good, said the Mighty Leader. Then, raising his voice so it could be heard by all in his presence, he announced : Now bring me a window, for I feel great hunger !

This new order put a stop to the search for the book. It was a much more difficult task to perform. There were certainly more windows than books in the Mighty Leader’s chamber, but moving a window to bring it to the Mighty Leader was quite another matter. But such was the wish of the Mighty Leader, and all his followers ran in every direction to satisfy his demand. All his followers, that is, with the exception of two women. Heads lowered, arms around each other’s shoulders, they were hunched together in great agitation, taking deep breaths and desperately trying not to laugh.

The eagle eye of the Mighty Leader had no trouble seeing them. His attack was instantaneous.

– You over there, he said. The two women with your heads down. Is there something you find funny?

The two women struggled to recover their serenity because they both knew that being directly addressed by the Mighty Leader was an exceptional privilege. Finally, one of them was able to speak.

– Of course not, Mighty Leader, she said. We have no reason to laugh. It’s just that … Well, we thought we heard you say that … Did you actually say, Mighty Leader, that you wanted a window because you were hungry ?!

And just as she finished speaking, unable to control herself completely, she let slip the tiniest of giggles, a giggle which was barely audible.

Sitting up in his bed, seeming slightly irritated, the Mighty Leader shook his head in disbelief and then spoke in a calm, controlled voice.

– I too laugh on occasion, you know. But it as always illuminating laughter, out in the open for all to share. Because where I look, others look too, and where I lead, others follow. Never let laughter escape of its own accord, always release it with intention. Deliberate laughter, that is the way. And when we laugh with intention, we can no longer laugh at everything or with everyone. Just remember that. Laugh with your leader, but never laugh at your leader. Because if you laugh at your leader, you both know what will happen.

The two attentive listeners nodded. Like everybody else, they knew only too well that laughing at the Mighty Leader could have terrible, irreversible consequences.

Satisfied with this response, the Mighty Leader closed his eyes, as if in prayer. After what seemed like an endless silence, articulating each syllable so that nothing would be missed, he asked the question they knew was coming.

– So tell me : who is the leader here ?

Standing up straight and speaking in unison in the same calm, controlled voice, the two followers answered in chorus.

– You are the leader here, O Mighty Leader. The window illumates and nourishes the Mighty Leader’s gaze, guiding us towards the path we must follow. You are our leader. We have no leader but you.

– Good, said the Mighty Leader, before continuing in a sudden battle cry addressed at all those in his presence. Now it is time to run my bath, for I feel great thirst !

Instantly, hands turned on the taps, releasing the water for the Mighty Leader’s great bath – which filled even faster thanks to the tears which ran down the cheeks of every follower as they each leaned forward to watch the watery spectacle.

And watching them, as he thought of what was to come, even the Mighty Leader himself trembled.

Voluntary Servitude – a instructive paradox

I have had this story Who is the leader here? in my archives for a while in various versions. In today’s world, where followers routinely confirm their number and the opinion they have of leaders whose paths they cross, maybe it’s a tale whose time has come. Even though, I must admit, it tells us nothing new.

It plunges us into the paradoxical world of voluntary servitude, an idea which first appeared in the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude published in 1577. In this essay, author Étienne de La Boétie invites us consider the reasons we submit to various sorts of sovereigns, leaders and tyrants. He tells us that we do this in spite of how it limits our own personal freedom. We also maintain our position of servitude in spite of the fact we are part of the many and the individual to whom we submit posesses only the power of one.

What about voluntary servitude? The term servitude, synonymous with slavery and submission, seems to be in contradiction with the idea of anything voluntary, which we normally associate with the notion of something freely and willingly chosen. Who could possibly choose voluntarily to live in servitude rather than overthrow the tyrant? How does the tyrant, who is clearly numerically vulnerable, hold on to power?

According to La Boétie, the tyrant is protected by those closest to the seat of his power. This group has an interest in maintaining the tyrant in place because they themselves are, in turn, able to wield fragments of power and influence gained from this proximity to the ruler for the benefit of those closest to themselves As La Boétie writes : There are only four or five who maintain the dictator… but a hundred thousand, and even millions, cling to the tyrant by this cord to which they are tied.¹

Political scientist Saul Newman expresses this with even greater precision : Tyranny is maintained by a complex web of interlocking interests.² The interlocking interests at work in a tyrannical society are in fact mechanisms of shared self-interest which are suffieciently rewarding to satisfy the majority that it is acceptable – and even desirable – to submit voluntarily to the servitude which oppresses them.

How was a text like the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude allowed to circulate? Surely it was pure subversion in a century where such ideas would be seen as treasonous? Etienne de La Boétie died young in 1563 at the age of 32, years before his text was published. But he wrote the essay when he was even younger. According to his very dear friend, the philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who oversaw its posthumous clandestine publication, it was written when La Boétie was between 16 and 18 years old.³ French political philosopher David Munnich suggests that the juvenile origin of the Discourse meant it was more widely tolerated than might have been expected, given its content :

La Boétie’s text began to circulate secretly among intellectuals labelled as a mere rhetorical exercise or a young man’s work, which made it appear harmless … and so it continued to pass from hand to hand.⁴

Old enough to create stories of our own?

In the fiction called Who is the leader here?, we find ourselves in a world where the Mighty Leader strikes fear into his followers, but where his power over them seems to be constantly under threat from laughter, that most human of responses. It is only the Mighty Leader‘s vigilance which prevents him from becoming the laughing stock. Each time laughter threatens, the Mighty Leader checks his followers’ continuing fidelity. This instinctive awareness of how easily he could be overthrown echoes David Munnich‘s summary of La Boétie‘s argument on how to end voluntary servitude :

To break free from voluntary servitude, ultimately, no revolt is required. It is enough to cease participating, because by our participation we deprive ourselves of the liberty which is ours. In order to be free, all that is required is that we no longer serve.⁵

Cooperation among the oppressed is all that is required. The simplicity of such a conclusion makes it seem almost a joke. Should we laugh or should we cry? This contrast between joy and sadness can be found in the tears flowing down the cheeks of the followers who lean to watch the watery spectacle of the filling of the Mighty Leader‘s bath. We can laugh until we cry or cry out of despair. And then what? A new leader? Or no leader? Or simply the same Mighty Leader and more voluntary servitude?

Water can only fill a bath for so long. And even the Mighty Leader with his unquenchable thirst trembles at the thought of what is to come. The story stops there.

The good thing about stories which start with Once upon a time is that they can be told over and over. Until we finally grow up and create stories of our own in our real lives using what we have learned from all those Once upon a times.

Still want more?

Now you’ve read this, if you are interested in more on the subject of leading and following, you may enjoy another post on this blog called Going against the flow – Faces in the crowd.

Notes

1. Quote from publisher’s presentation of Eris Gems Edition of The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude. ↩︎
2. Qoted from Saul Newman, La Boétie and Republican Liberty: Voluntary Servitude and Non-Domination, European Journal of Political Theory, 2019. Full text available at Goldsmiths Research Online. ↩︎
3. More on Montaigne‘s friendship with La Boétie in Can we have more than one friend? According to Montaigne, no, a short article by Manuel Bermudez, OUP Blog, March 2017. ↩︎
4. Quote taken and translated from the presentation of a Radio France programme on The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude. ↩︎
5. For source, see note 4. ↩︎