The intersecting web of institutions in our modern life takes care of much of the ambiguity that is present in everyday reality. We do not notice it anymore, except during extreme moments of strife. For example, we have laws, which inscribe in concrete terms what we can and cannot do. But there are also moral conventions, traditions, religion, culture, &c., that we can rely on to dispel with ambiguity, whether personal, familial, societal, political, or to some degree even global.

In the event of an apocalyptic scenario, these institutions will crumble. Many things will become ambiguous again. One of the main driving forces of this ambiguity is the ensuing scarcity that not only incentivizes brutal competition but also makes it impossible to maintain such institutions.

Now, although it is possible to think through every ambiguity, so that we arrive at a suitable solution or compromise (although not necessarily the correct one), the state of things during an apocalypse also means that many times there will be no time to think. Thus, decision-making for the most pressing matters needs to be delegated to a knowledgeable few, or even a single leader. There will be many cases wherein an imperfect swift decision is better than the perfect solution that never comes.

Time and urgency are the most crucial factors that necessitate the presence of a strong, decisive, knowledgeable leader. And the decisions of this leader need to be protected, at least to a degree. Although this leader must be accountable, they cannot be accountable in the way that leaders today are. The circumstances are simply too different; they will have to make decisions that they themselves are ashamed of. But this is the moral cost of survival. In the apocalypse, all kinds of sacrifices must be made—physical, mental, emotional, and moral. The leader must bear the brunt of that.

There will have to be a balance between the beastly and the angelic natures embodied in the human person. A purely angelic person will be defeated by the beast; the beast will be torn asunder by other beasts or themselves.

At the plainest, more basic level, however, the leader must be competent. They must be able to obtain resources, handle disputes, and deal with enemies within and without. But they will have the help of their group. Even with regard decisions, the leader will ideally have advisors. But the ultimate privilege of the leader is the ability to make decisions with reference to nothing: They make distinct what is arbitrary. They make definite what is vague. They say what is and what is not, in a time when certitude is as scarce as anything else.