Who should be in charge?

Mark McIlroy

26.01.2026


In my view the person with the most education should be the person who is in charge.

Education comes at a cost. It can make a person more distant, less emotional and less warm.

However it lifts a person to a higher level of understanding and thinking.

For example, I believe that to become a captain of a ocean vessel a person needs to pass a 'Captain's Exam', which is a difficult exam covering navigation and a range of other topics.


The person who is in charge needs to be strong. However they don't need to be the strongest person.

It is not the role of the person in charge to enforce situations, that's someone else's job.

See other article on this issue: The person in charge should be the person closest in age to age 50, as long as they are capable.



Alternatives

1. No one is in charge. In this situation there is anarchy, and everyone in the area heads towards some other place, with small groups each heading in different directions to different places.


2. A large group of people is in charge. This can be a sustainable situation however it is very oppressive for anyone that is not part of that group. Those that are not part of the authority group generally rise up, sometimes violently, and overthrow those in authority.


3. A team of two or three people is in charge. This situation is usually a disaster. If the organisation is a business, it generally collapses.



16.05.2026

1. In a formal business or military operation it is usually clear who is in charge. This is a good thing. In family and social situations, not so much.


2. There is no room for authority in a successful marriage. A husband is not in charge of his wife, and a wife is not in charge of her husband.

The couple needs to discuss issues and make decisions jointly.


3. Some people do not have the right to be in charge because they have no common sense.

To be in charge a person needs to understand 'cause and effect'. For example, 'If someone does action X, then action Y will occur'.

A person that doesn't understand this and has no common sense should never be in charge, or people will die.


4. Some people seem to believe that they have the right to be in charge, for reasons known only to themselves. These people cause a lot of trouble.


5. In social situations it is better if people discuss issues together, rather than one or worse several people trying to give instructions to other people.