Leadership and Moral Authority in the Post-truth Era

Abstract

This article examines Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s covenantal conception of leadership as a coherent ethical framework capable of addressing the challenges of the contemporary post-truth era. In a cultural context characterized by declining trust in institutions, the proliferation of misinformation, and the increasing dominance of emotional narratives over reasoned deliberation, traditional leadership models often struggle to maintain moral authority and social cohesion. Drawing on biblical narratives, Jewish philosophical traditions, and contemporary leadership theory, Sacks articulates a model of leadership grounded not in authority or charisma but in covenantal responsibility, education, and moral example. The article reconstructs Sacks’s approach as an integrated covenantalpedagogical paradigm in which leadership is understood primarily as a relational and educational process. In this framework, leaders cultivate moral responsibility and intellectual integrity within the communities they serve rather than merely exercising institutional power. By analyzing key elements of Sacks’s thought and exploring their implications for contemporary leadership and leadership education, the article argues that covenantal leadership offers both a normative vision and practical guidance for responding to the ethical and epistemic challenges characteristic of the post-truth condition.