The philosopher Plato discusses five types of regimes (Republic, Book VIII; Greek: πέντε πολιτεῖαι).They are Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, and Tyranny.Plato also assigns a man to each of these regimes to illustrate what they stand for. And while this is reminiscent of several historical revolutions, including the American revolution, Plato warns that the trouble only intensifies from here. The rulers will impose heavy taxes against the commoners to ensure they are unable or unwilling to fight back against this. We become obsessed with our freedom and become willing to sacrifice necessary things like social order and structure to attain it. And are the people so subjugated by senseless laws and stiff taxes, that they are unable to resist in any meaningful way? In 2018, Freedom in the World recorded the 13th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. Plato’s Republic is written in a series of dialogues in which Socrates is given a starring role — Socrates himself never wrote his work down. These men continued a system which held slaves stolen from Africa, in chains to make them and their new nation wealthy. An article from the Economist claims that populations have turned on autocrats for good reason: Democracies are on average richer than non-democracies, are less likely to go to war and have a better record of fighting corruption. Plato theorized that democracies would eventually become so bad that the people themselves would demand that a dictator come and save them. It is then argued that some of Plato's proposals and criticisms of democracy are well worth our attention, especially in the case of governing. They had great ideas, but black people and Native Indians were clearly not included in the “people” they carried so much about. The excitability and emotion of people and their mass mobilization incites democracy to acts of hysteria according to Plato. America was created as … 83 quotes have been tagged as republic. It might be easy to assume that Plato held a grudge over the death of his mentor. In Plato’s ideal state, groups are divided into their social utilities such as a warrior population and an agricultural population, without the ability to willfully change professions. He believes that democracy is not an ideology ruling system. Plato provides a detailed account of the degeneration of the state from aristocracy to tyranny via timocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. This mode of the constitution is thought to bring more unity than one preventing political dialogue between the ruled and their rulers. Plato correctly predicated this is a democracy governed by the wealthy and the rich where the poor remain poor and slavery is entrenched within the very laws and fabric of a democracy. Otherwise the description of our lessons learned from Plato was most impressive. Plato predicts that the people will demand freedom at every turn, fighting any form of authority and demanding more liberty. ‘Philosophy’ can be interpreted from Greek as the love of wisdom, thus a true philosopher is a person who seeks pleasure purely of the mind. novo creation of a democratic system of government. One example is the famous Athenian general and statesman. And now he is a tyrant, the leader has no choice if he wishes to rule. During the course of his writings Plato differentiates between necessary desires and unnecessary desires. Elected by the people, yet now he is protected from them. Try to become more meaningful. Well, Plato also said that wives and children are to be held in common, didn’t he? Plato’s ideal diet is an aristocracy, where knowledge and reason prevail. However Plato believed there was a far more sinister nature to democracy. The first, rather obvious, strike against Athenian democracy is that there was a tendency for people to be casually executed. A final irony is that Plato’s advocacy of censorship of art, poetry, and bad characters (Books III and X) could perhaps prohibit The Republic from existing in his own ideal state. No other nation can seem to copy the USA. Plato was against democracy. The people will lift this champion to great heights and anoint him with sacred responsibilities to bring liberty to the land. Among them is the punitive nature of the Treaty of Versaille, burdening generations of Germans with economic scarcity and so-called “guilt clause” attributing sole responsibility of the war to Germany. Perhaps Plato was right, then: democracy is not the best possible political system. All desires and tendencies that threaten to corrupt leadership. Plato states in the Republic that democracy is just a latter stage of a declining state. Liberty Leads the People, by Eugene Delacrox. These democratic leaders will realize that they are only easily supported when there is a war that the people can rally behind. Realizing the unprecedented brutality of their decision, it was overturned the very next day. Across the Western political discourse, immigration and citizenship remain a source of political tension. 18 This is a point missed surprisingly often, but noted well by Ilting. His careful organization of society by a detached philosopher-king rids his ideal state of the self-determination that provides human liberty in a democracy. So maybe not so wise in all respects. These desires include luxuries and lavish possessions. Yet, we are allowed to doubt him if we wish. What happens to government when technology advances to the point where “necessary” and “unnecessary” desires are removed or significantly diminished? As a result, there is some ambiguity as to whose opinions are being posited in the Republic but it is commonly thought to be Plato’s. The tyrant will pay them to protect him from the ordinary citizens. But this is not quite what the great philosopher had in mind. Plato and Sidney. Socrates was convicted of these charges, before being imprisoned and finally executed. We all know what happened next. I find this Plato essay filled with the childlike personality of who wrote it. Tell the migrate workers in the farm fields of California, the mother who has to support her family by working three jobs, and communities that have no fresh and clean water in the USA that they are free and living in the “greatest” nation on earth. Join 3000+ fellow explorers trying to expand their thinking and reach a higher existence. And so the democratic leaders will unnecessarily become involved in violent affairs, creating wars to distract the people. Plato republic quotes on democracy. Not a word about repealing this outdated and archaic part of our constitution. Only free men who had completed their military service were allowed to vote on any legislation. AB - This essay examines the Republic’s most important argument against democracy, and claims that it remains, even amidst the dominance of democratic theory, a powerful critique not only of Athenian democracy but also of representative democracy. Unnecessary desires are desires that we are able to overcome, yet refuse to. Aristotle pursued political knowledge with a historical appreciation and practical sensibilities which reflected the epistemological divide between the two great thinkers — Plato a rationalist and Aristotle an empiricist. Although plato was right, agreed but democracy remains the adorable and acceptable form of government. Brains lived. Suggesting that the state should wield such control over the livelihoods of its citizens is an affront to human liberty as we understand it now. Assuming that the Republic was intended to be a serious critique of the political thought in Athens, Plato argues that only Kallipolis, an aristocracy led by the unwilling philosopher-kings (the wisest men), is a just It is understandable why Plato would despise democracy, considering that his friend and mentor, Socrates, was condemned to death by the policy makers of Athens in 399 BCE. Does democracy lead to entangling wars for the benefit of the ruling class? 21 - 30 of 500 . When the smoke clears the old regime will be gone and a democracy will be supplanted. For those that can not see Plato’s foresight, please delve deeper. According to Aristotle's classification of states, constitutional government in a democracy is a perversion. I wonder what Plato, and Socrates, would think of how well, or not so well, Democracy is working today. Once we have tasted freedom we become drunk off it. He was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and introducing new gods, neglecting those of the city, which existed as an object of civic patriotism. That is why they believed a democratic Republic was the best government. Instead, democracy suffers from the failures of the aforementioned systems insofar as it prioritizes wealth and property accumulation as the highest good. Plato uses The Republic to deliver a damning critique of democracy that renders it conducive to mass ignorance, hysteria, and ultimately tyranny. If this is not possible, the ruler will inevitable strike down any political opposition he may have. In his work, Plato lists 5 forms of government from best to worst. All citizens (with the pertinent qualification of their being free men) were permitted the opportunity of equal political participation: Important decisions were made by the assembly, where each citizen had the right to speak and the majority of offices were assigned by lot. colonial power was a democracy of sorts, and so the step Such emotion, a Platonic viewpoint may claim, is conducive to political hysteria enabling a well-timed tyrant to capitalize on the will for strong leadership and violent retribution. Although some of the thoughts are reflective of “The Republic”, to get to the bottom of Plato and Socrates’ concerns for their concept of democracy, is that democracy (by its definition “the great experiment”) can not survive as it is fundamentally flawed in theory by the greater growing demands of individual needs, small groups and expectations of repairations or entitlements. Rather he supported “Intellectual Democracy”, where only those who has intellectual capacity should rule the people democratically and have right to vote. Also read: This is how Modi is different from other Right-wing populists like Trump, Erdogan & Duterte. reasons for criticizing democratic theory are not as clearly agreed upon, except in very broad outline: he thinks that democracy prizes freedom far too much and knowledge far too little. And before you decide to judge the philosopher Plato, try to remember that he is often considered one of the wisest men to ever live; an individual whose work was so profound that it shaped the direction of western thought and culture. 2017. In 399bc Socrates was put on trial by a small group of fellow citizens acting as democratic citizen-prosecutors. Professional prosecutors and judges did not exist in Ancient Athens. Democracy in … They should be the leaders of society. | Malcolm Dixon, Crisis of democracy – social decline through politicization, and insistence on freedoms and rights – S K Ditta, Crisis of democracy - social decline through politicization, and insistence on freedoms and rights | S K Ditta, 6) Critically analyze Plato’s thoughts on the system of democracy. This essay examines the Republic’s most important argument against democracy, and claims that it remains, even amidst the dominance of democratic theory, a powerful critique not only of Athenian democracy but also of representative democracy. … Athens is a city-state, while today we are familiar with the primary unit of governance operating nationwide. Historically, the most famous demise from a democracy into tyranny happened in Germany between the First and Second World Wars. How sad for us, how very, very sad. And any who do oppose the leaders will be labeled as an enemy and persecuted as a spy. Instead, it was left to the ordinary citizen to bring indictments, act as jurors, and deliberate on the outcome of trials. Take a minute and think about the people who are running whatever country you are in and tell him he is wrong. To depict this, Plato uses an analogy of ship navigation in Book VI of ‘The Republic’. Historians have offered a number of explanations as to why it failed. The ‘Mytilenian Debate’ in Athens, 427bc, stands as a flagrant example of this hysteria. The whimsical nature of public support defies sound reason and produces fatal inconsistency over time. History has shown a consistent pattern of subjugation, revolution and subjugation once again. (250 words) - INSIGHTS, Inclusivity: The possible dream - Moneyweb, The Fragility of Democracy: Athens and the Thirty Tyrants | Classical Wisdom Weekly, EP 3: It's an AfterMath - Economics Design, Plato And Hobbes: On the Revolutions during Arab Spring | Vidhi Legal, Antigone: Democracy vs. Authoritarianism | Classical Wisdom Weekly, Top Ten: Most Terrifying Monsters Of Greek Mythology, Five Reasons Why Socrates Was A Terrible Husband, Prometheus The Creation of Man and a History of Enlightenment. Only in the past few decades were we electing the Senators. Lawrence Torcello, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Rochester Institute of Technology. As democracy is preceded by rule of the rich, Plato believed that under a democratic regime, there would be considerable resentment against the … Plato theorized that democracies would eventually become so bad that the people themselves would demand that a dictator come and save them. During the Brexit campaign, a leading UK politician Michael Gove refused to name any economists who back Britain’s exit from the European Union, saying that “people in this country have had enough of experts”. Plato fails to condemn the institution of slavery and regard it as fundamental evil, which reflects the social construct in neighboring Sparta — a militaristic oligarch with a large serf populous. Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher who was a student and admirer of Plato, criticized his teacher’s purely theoretical approach. Socrates had opportunities to escape a number of times but … This essay examines the Republic’s most important argument against democracy, and claims that it remains, even amidst the dominance of democratic theory, a powerful critique not only of Athenian democracy but also of representative democracy. And now the leader is a tyrant, born from democracy and propped up by the demand for liberty. © 2021 Classical Wisdom Limited. Kings should take advice from philosophers and they should also benefit from the advice of their citizenry. It is understandable why Plato would despise democracy, considering that his friend and mentor, Socrates, was condemned to death by the policy makers of Athens in 399 BCE. Consequently, governance of a smaller population enabled more ‘direct’ forms of democracy rather than the ‘representative’ forms accorded by contemporary constitutions. 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Clarke. He will make soldiers of the slaves and the degenerates. I’ve had in recent weeks some stranger on Facebook accuse me of denigrating the Founding Fathers good name. cbafgbecfafe. It was the political philosopher Thomas Paine who describe government as, “at best, a necessary evil”. Americans should read their true history. It is understandable why Plato would despise democracy, considering that his friend and mentor, Socrates, was condemned to death by the policy makers of Athens in 399 BCE. A vexing problem of democratic theory has been to determine whetherordinary citizens are up to the task of governing a large society.There are three distinct problems here. Plato continues in his discussion by explaining that the these leaders will eventually become unpopular, an unavoidable result. The American Revolution was a war of independence He called those able people “Philosopher Kings”: philosopher king | philosophy. His fundamental criticism of democracy is (essentially) that it … The Plato quickly adopted Socrates teachings and turned his studies toward the question of virtue and noble character. We have universal voting rights, but the popular vote does not determine the presidency (see Al Gore), Very energetic blog, I enjoyed that a lot. Reported in Thucydides’ book the History of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenian assembly, scared of further revolt, hastily sentenced all of the male citizens of the rebellious city-state Mytilene to death, while the women and children would be sold into slavery. Everything is full of the spirit of liberty and even animals walk the streets with rights. Women were not allowed to vote and subsequently possessed significantly fewer rights than men. However, Socrates challenged the Athenian democracy by questioning the existence of their gods (he was supposedly an atheist), corrupting their youth to do the same in challenging traditional authority, and being a general pain in the ass. Disclaimer Terms of Publication Privacy Policy and Cookies Sitemap RSS Contact Us, Aside from political revolutions around 400 BCE, Athenian democracy remained remarkably stable and well maintained. Here became the Weimar Republic. During the Peloponnesian war, the ten treasurers of the Delian League were accused of embezzling funds from the Athenian treasury. Plato’s and Hegel’s shared arguments against democracy It is important to first recognize what Plato’s and Hegel’s target is when they criticize democracy: Athenian democracy.18 Neither is considering liberal democracy and, in fact, I believe that many 17 See Hegel, PR, §273R. But what is the demos? Even worse, democracy embraces total freedom (which … Plato and Socrates saw pure democracy as a horror where anyone could end up ruling the people, if they … A true philosopher is someone that is in love with knowledge and the search for true reality. Plato and Aristotle are not wholly or diametrically opposed to each other and this stance against democracy is one of those where they share a similar view, even though they may differ in the specifics. We are certainly not a democracy. We are in that situation. However Michels (2004) uses his writings to consider his reason for not be a great of a democratic state. Glorify Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, and democracy philosophers, was Plato s. Country you are in fact seeing this happen before us incredible democratic “ experiment ” and “ unnecessary desires... Has brought what Plato, Republic, this hostility towards philosophy ( true knowledge ) is predicted it be... 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