What Happened to the Future? Lessons from Ancient Athens About Leadership and Its Limits -- presentation by W. Robert Connor March 22, 2011

Whether it is the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1991 or the more recent global economic crisis and ongoing turmoil in the Middle East, all too often we find ourselves blindsided by events that defy rational calculation and modeling. How can we formulate policy, educate political and business leaders, and hope to survive in a world of radical and essentially unpredictable change? The shrewd, levelheaded thinkers who reflected upon the glories and disasters of the classical age of ancient Greece were under no illusions about living in a predictable world. They prized practical intelligence informed by an awareness of complexity and a respect for limits. They elevated adaptability and preparedness over pat solutions and over-confident projections. An expert on Thucydides and the democratic politics of classical Athens , W. Robert Connor considers what we can learn from ancient Greece about leadership and its limits.

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