The cardinal responsibility of leadership is to identify the

Hear, O seekers of wisdom and students of destiny, the words of Mao Zedong, a man who walked in the tempest of revolution and beheld the struggle of nations: “The cardinal responsibility of leadership is to identify the dominant contradiction at each point of the historical process and to work out a central line to resolve it.” These are not idle words spoken in comfort, but the forged wisdom of one who saw history as battle — not merely of armies, but of ideas, forces, and time itself. In this teaching lies the essence of all true leadership: the ability to perceive the hidden conflict that drives the world forward, and to find the path through which harmony may be restored.

For every age bears within it a contradiction, a tension between what is and what must be. These contradictions are the storms that shape civilizations. The wise leader does not flee them, nor does he seek to deny them. Rather, he studies them as the sailor studies the winds — for in understanding their direction lies the power to steer the ship of men. The fool rages against the tempest, but the wise one sees that in its fury lies the seed of transformation. Thus, to identify the dominant contradiction is to behold the beating heart of one’s time — the wound that must be healed, the imbalance that cries out for resolution.

Mao’s insight was born not from theory alone, but from the furnace of struggle. In the vast upheaval of early twentieth-century China — when the old empire crumbled, foreign powers loomed, and the people starved between heaven and earth — he perceived the great contradiction of his era: the clash between oppression and liberation, between stagnation and rebirth. Many spoke of reform, others of rebellion, but Mao sought the central line, the living thread that could unite the forces of change and give them direction. He saw that without a guiding principle, passion turns to chaos; without a vision of resolution, even righteous anger becomes destruction. His doctrine was not merely political — it was a meditation on how humanity confronts the forces that divide it.

The same truth echoes throughout all ages. Consider the story of Abraham Lincoln, who ruled during America’s darkest trial. The contradiction that tore his land was the enslavement of men by men — a wound at the heart of a nation founded on liberty. Lincoln, like Mao in his own realm, discerned the central line — to preserve the union and purge the sin of bondage. It was no easy balance, for both justice and unity demanded a price in blood. Yet through his leadership, the contradiction that threatened to shatter the republic became the crucible in which a new birth of freedom was forged. So it is in all history: great leaders are not those who avoid conflict, but those who understand its nature and lead their people through it to renewal.

O children of the future, take heed: the art of leadership lies not in the pursuit of comfort, but in the discernment of truth. At every moment of life — in nations, in families, in the soul itself — there exists a dominant contradiction. It may be the struggle between fear and courage, between selfishness and service, between the comfort of the past and the promise of the unknown. The first task of any leader, be he king or craftsman, is to see it clearly. For blindness to contradiction is blindness to destiny. Only when you face what divides your spirit can you begin the journey toward wholeness.

And yet, seeing alone is not enough. The second task is to work out a central line — to find the middle way where strength and wisdom join hands. To choose one’s direction amid opposing forces requires patience, humility, and vision. The leader must resist the temptations of extremes — of wrath, of pride, of despair — and instead weave together the scattered threads of conflict into a single purpose. The central line is the golden path that unites opposites, turning chaos into creation. It demands both the courage to act and the faith to endure, for every solution births new contradictions, and every victory summons new trials.

Thus, the lesson of Mao’s words is not for rulers alone, but for all who walk the road of responsibility. Learn to perceive the contradictions that shape your world — the tensions within your work, your relationships, your own heart. Do not flee from them, for they are the teachers of wisdom. Ask yourself: What force must rise, and what must yield, for harmony to be restored? Then, with calm resolve, choose your central line, and follow it with integrity and courage.

For life itself is a ceaseless historical process, a dance of opposites seeking balance. The true leader — in the world, in the home, in the self — is one who brings order from conflict, and meaning from motion. Therefore, when you face the storms of your own time, remember these words: Seek the contradiction. Understand it. Then walk the narrow line of truth that leads not away from struggle, but through it, into the dawn of renewal.