do you think progress depends on the leader or the people?

I think its both, proportionately. Of course, a good leader is necessary to affect any change. But, if the people are unwilling to respond or change, then the leader will be stabbing in the dark. Also, if the people are not exactly sure as to what they want, the leader will have a little trouble. In many ways the best leaders are good followers. So, they need to be able to have a good mix of listening to what the people and responding accordingly. Also, they need to keep their word. Some leaders can make promises in order to get a seat. If people completely rely on the government, they lose the critical concept of independent thought. When this happens, government officials will be more likely to make decisions based on what THEY think the people need. I guess any effective and generlly positive government needs good leaders, but equally mindful and active citizens. I agree with you. Good topic

I think it depends to both of them (leader & the people). If we want our country to progress, we should help each other and do the best we can to improve the economic situation..=)

I agree with your statement. Change must begin from within one's self but a grassroots campaign to change a community (let alone an entire country) is a long and difficult course although it can be(and has been) done. The politicians (or so called "leaders") are really just puppets for corporate interests and have little or no real power. True leaders can indeed change things but they are few and far between. I'm wondering about the word progress, progress toward what? Is there a clear goal? How can we progress toward any goal if we don't even know what the goal is? If the goal with our global economy is to make the greediest among us wealthy beyond reason then we are doing great! If the goal we should be progressing toward is survival of our planet then we are failing miserably.