Sadly, because of how power is acquired in our world, we have created a pathway to dominance in which "ruthlessness" trumps all other attributes.
Consider the events of the last 6 years from the perspective of ruthless pursuit of specific goals: huge shifts of wealth to the "have mores"; restructuring of government regulations, labor conditions, and judiciary to protect corporate power; setting in motion perpetual state of global conflict to promote economic interests and manage population; and dismantling key elements of the constitution.
The word ruthless "dates from the early 14th century. It was formed simply from ruth + -less, "having no ruth or pity". Ruth by itself is now considered archaic. It dates from the late 12th century, and it derives from early Middle English rewen "rue, regret". The Old English form was hréow "rue", or "sorrow; regret". Ruthless is therefore related to the modern English verb rue, and the current meaning of rue is "regret and wish undone".
http://www.takeourword.com/...
The word, ruthless, seems made for the "decider" as he repeatedly asserts that he neither regrets nor wishes undone any of his decisions, justifying his ruthless behavior by his rightousness... ruthlessness and rightousness are long term partners having presided over the worst in human history.
In an article by Jonas Salk, published in the Sunday Parade Magazine 11/04/1954, he wrote of the consequences of breaking an established paradigm (killed vs live vaccines) and the initial cost to him of credibility. He went on says humans needed to make an evolutionary shift, breaking our paradigm of responding to confilict with agression and violence and then rewarding the most agressive and violent with victory and power. He said we need to make this change because we will self destruct with our increasing power to destroy. I still have a tattered copy of that article because it made so much sense to me then and it still does each time I take it out.
Salk spoke of responding to violence and agression with the courage to not reinforce violence and ruthlessness and to instead resolve conflict with negotiation and cooperation. And millions of us around the world are doing that each day in our lives. We live the social contract because it allows us to pull out the best in us rather than the worst, and it feels better to live with respect and cooperation than in fear and mistrust. And it encourages problem solving among all affected so negative and positive outcomes are distributed evenly.
True cooperation is challenging; it stretches many useful human interactive skills like communication, insight, restraint, empathy, integrity, and humor. Practicing cooperation enhances our humanity.