Is it Better to be Feared Than Loved?

                When referring to how to lead a group of people, a common and popular question asks: Is it better to be feared or loved? Now, most people may look at this and say "loved, of course" without giving it any thought. This is always true in two instances. One, individually, it is better to be loved by individual people, however I am discussing about leading a group. And two, in a perfect world, this would be totally and completely true. However, this world is far from perfect. I wish to look into the pros and cons of being feared by a group of people that you are in charge of.

                Fear can be very powerful as both a tool and an enemy to us. When making a group of people follow you, fear is used as a tool more than one may think. Throughout history fear has been used to control and dominate others. It is frowned upon by most society, yes, but if we think about it, fear is a much more logical answer than to be loved. Wars are not solved with love most of the time (perhaps there can be a marriage between two high ranking officials from both sides), but other than that wars are not won by love. To win a war, one side must invoke enough fear into the opponent to the point where they surrender or, they completely overpower the opponent. And even in matches in a much smaller scale, such as sports or simple board games, fear can be used. If enough fear is invoked it makes them nervous, and does not allow that person to think clearly. Intimidation can even be seen in the animal kingdom. Gorillas for instance, the silverback, who is the leader of the pack, makes himself appear larger and tougher than the other gorillas. If anyone challenges the silverback, they can ether beat the previous leader and become even more feared than he was, or they could be beaten down and looked down upon. This principle of  loss and victory applies to human society as well as gorillas. Each loss and victory for a county will determine how the rest of the world looks at them. If someone loses a war, they are look at as weak, and if they win, they are feared as a mighty country. However, there are downsides to this powerful tool. If one gains too much power this way, people may try to split off, and over through the government. There have also been many revolutionists and anarchists in history. And some succeeded (such as the American and French revolution), and others failed terribly (The Revolutions of 1848). This shows fear can be a powerful tool, but it can backfire.

                Love. According to the Beatles, "all you need is love". And, if everyone loved each other, this would be a perfect world but, as I have stated, this is not a perfect world. And, some may argue (like myself) that with the world constantly growing darker and harder to live in, we will need more love for one another to survive, but this is a different topic. I believe that a ruler should be loving, and loved. As I have stated though, love will not end wars typically, there needs to be an element of fear upon other opposing groups. So, I concluded that a ideal leader would have both qualities, and this would be respect. Respect is composed of many elements. From your followers point of view, they look up to you, care for you, but understand that you have earned that rank, and you are there to help them. And to your enemies, you are not feared to the point where they will start a war or grudge match against you, but they do not look down upon you either. This is the perfect median between love and fear, but respect is closer to love than fear. So, in conclusion I believe, over all  it is indeed better to be loved over feared.