Plato s Critique Of Democracy - 1768 Words

Plato continually attempted to enter the world of politics, but after being let down time after time and seeing the execution of his beloved mentor Socrates, Plato criticized the regime of his time (Athenian democracy). He sought to draft his own representation of the ideal constitution, outlined and explained in his work Republic. Plato’s critique of democracy is expected since democracy embodies the opposite of his ideal regime: A government controlled and ruled by the uneducated masses that easily slips into chaos and tyranny. According to Plato, democracy cannot function efficiently due to its unnatural, weak leaders, disordered functionality, and its appetitive citizens. He defines his conception of democracy through its deviation†¦show more content†¦Every citizen of his republic plays a role towards the efficient function of the city, either ruler, warrior, or laborer. Democracy defies that rule by allowing variety and liberty, and because of this variety, dem ocracy appears with a certain loveliness which produces the most diverse population. In a democratic city, since it is full of freedom â€Å"embroidered with every kind of character type, would seem to be the most beautiful† (557d, p.228). This seems to be Plato’s only seemingly positive comment on democracy. But he later comments, â€Å"And it would seem to be a pleasant constitution, which lacks rulers but not variety and which distributes a sort of equality to both equals and unequals alike† (558c, p.228). If properly executed, this constitution is seemingly splendid and agreeable. But Plato emphases that this attractiveness of diversity is only temporary: â€Å"Isn’t that a divine and pleasant life, while it lasts?† since (558a, p.228). An excess of freedom produces an excess of opinions, perspectives, and interests. These factions must be appeased, flattered, and indulged by a leader to receive support from the people. The very freedom of demo cracy directly leads to absolutism due to the people’s love of tolerance and eqaulity rather than love of true good. Plato reasons this by dissecting democracy into three parts: first, the class of the idlers or the drones, as said before, labeled as the dominant, controlling class. Second is the wealthy class. InShow MoreRelatedPlato s Critique Of Democracy2140 Words   |  9 Pages Why Plato’s critique of democracy is still relevant today. Democracy is often referred to as the rule of the many, but Aristotle called this definition incomplete. In his book â€Å"Politics†, he explained that in a city if the majorities are aristocrats and if they have political authority, then it is an aristocracy not a democracy. He therefore defined democracy as when â€Å"free people have authority and Oligarchy as when the wealthy have it† (1290b). Plato viewed Democracy as a flawed systemRead MoreComparing Twentieth Century Political Thought Leo Strauss And Richard Rorty1421 Words   |  6 PagesStrauss at the University of Chicago, and was always quick to acknowledge the influence that his former teacher had on his writing. In the following paper I will briefly highlight and critique the fundamental arguments presented by the duo. Certainly, Rorty and Strauss share a degree of commonality in their critique of the Enlightenment. Furthermore, I will assert that Rorty’s ‘pragmatic argument’ a nd Strauss’ ‘esotericism’ share a degree of kinship. However, when it comes to a close examination ofRead MoreAn Analysis Of Euripides The Suppliants 1372 Words   |  6 PagesIn The Suppliants, Euripides wrote, â€Å"The people cannot form proper judgements and therefore cannot rightly direct a state†. Euripides is living in the midst of democracy in Athens; therefore his quote is a critique of what is happening around him. In his quote, he is taking an anti-democratic stance towards the question of who is fit to rule. Euripides believes only one or few people should rule a state, as not all are qualified or have the ‘proper judgement’ to do so. However, people do rule theRead MoreThe Slave By Frederick Douglass972 Words   |  4 PagesConcepts, techniques, and ways of thinking can last much longer than their creators. The philosophy of Plato is an example of that. Its ideas can be found in a speech written thousands of years later. In â⠂¬Å"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?† Frederick Douglass, a former slave, addresses an audience of white abolitionists on July 5th of 1852. He focuses on the disparity between the American values celebrated on the Independence Day and the issue of slavery. To do so, Douglass raises the questionRead MoreAnalysis Of Plato s The Cave Essay2307 Words   |  10 PagesWithin the ship as presented above, a chaos reigns which is, according to Plato, similar to the situation in a democratic society. The disagreements between the sailors on the ship symbolically represent the instability of a democratic society. The shipmaster symbolizes the masses, something quite powerful and strong, but at the same time and due to his nearsightedness and deafness, easily tricked and seduced by persuasion and lies, having for consequence that unable people govern. A comparison canRead MoreAnalysis Of Plato s The Democratic Man 1865 Words   |  8 PagesBrandon Wilson Professor Evans Intro to Philosophy 4 March 2015 Plato’s Democratic Man Plato describes the degeneration to democracy in Book VIII of The Republic as the relationship between man and the city. There are five stages starting with the first being and aristocracy led by a philosopher king who is wise and makes the decision for all and his soul is considered to be that of gold. Aristocracy stage leads to timocracy which would is the new generation of leaders and their souls are not consideredRead MoreMarx, Mill And Freud s Critique Of Political Economy And The Communist Manifesto Essay1133 Words   |  5 Pagesof Job to Plato) as a comparative yardstick, or point of reference, but without letting them take over the foreground in your paper -- the latter should be reserved for these three figures. Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and John Stuart Mill are three authors who tackle the topic of freedom in unique ways, but their messages are fundamentally the same and continue the ideas that we encountered in the esoteric texts as well as in The Matrix: . 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In the Greco- Roman world, Plato expounded the idea in his book The Republic in the 4th century and to stoics implied it in their doctrine of natural right or as they called it â€Å"jus natural† which means according to which natured created all men free and equal and private property