EUNICE C.

BUNYI March 13, 2023

BSIT 2-B ETHICS

Nelson Mandela, for me he is a great leader who will be remembered, because of establishing laws for
equality and anti-racial discrimination for the own good of his country and not even for himself in South
Africa.
While Adolf Hitler from Germany is very different character from Nelson Mandela, he is a rebellious
child or failure in short before his childhood days, and because of that, his character or behavior affects
on him and his community. He became a dictator in his own country, he abused his power for being a
leader, he wants to have fear on him, like what his father did in him when he was a child.
These two personalities made fundamental changes in world history through their different worldviews.
Hitler who beliefs that Germans are superior, while Mandela who believes in equality. These views are
shown in their leadership styles, the servant leader (Mandela) and dictator (Hitler). Considering
Kohlberg’s stages of moral thinking, Adolf Hitler morals fall under pre-conventional level, where he acts
according to his own best interest, while Nelson Mandela falls within post-conventional level, which he
considers social welfare. Whilst Mandela showed a strong commitment to justice, Hitler based on the
consequentialism to make ethical decisions. In fact, Mandela was truly an ethical leader for all the things
he has devoted but Hitler was an unethical one due to immoral consequences he caused to Jews and
others. Lastly, in the topic about leadership power, Mandela successfully used the power derived from his
own characteristics and behaviors, which were expert power, referent power, and prestige power.
Conversely, Hitler used legitimate power, coercive power and expert power so as to influence people.
In conclusion, Adolf Hitler might be seen as a villain but his monstrous character is only a reflection
of his childhood trauma. I am not trying to justify his action but instead his life is an eye-opener for these
generations. Moral character may seem a simple word but plays significant part in everyone’s life. We
must develop our sense of judgment properly, weigh down situations and try not to make decisions based
on unsettled emotions.