3: The Avatar Must Consider the Needs of All: Ethics and Power of Being the Avatar

In Avatar, we see Firelord Ozai as a powerful but unethical leader. He causes significant pain to other people, including his own people and even his own children. Why does he do this? Why do people in the Fire Nation follow him even when he does such behavior?

In this chapter, we will talk about ethics and power. In order to be ethical ourselves, we need to understand what exactly moral values and ethics are. We also need to understand what factors can make us act unethically, as well as why we might go along with those who are unethical. To consider this, we discuss what are the bases of power that leaders draw on to influence others. We then discuss aspects of situations that can make us behave in unethical ways. Finally, we talk about how we can be ethical leaders, focusing on how we can cultivate our virtues to reduce unethical behavior. While defeating the Firelord might be a great victory, its ultimate impact is low if our next generation of leaders is as unethical as Ozai was.