Democracy in its True Form

Eric Swanson

            Today many countries are turning to democracy to govern their people.  America has prospered due to many decisive victories in World Wars and has come out to be the country every other country wants to be like.  However, envy was not the feeling in ages past.  Plato, one of the most respected and quoted philosophers, had many reservations over a country adopting democracy as its form of government.  Plato felt that democracy leads to tyranny and that its people were made to be drones within society.  However, the democratic America has not turned into a tyranny and its people are very active in government, business, and social events.  Was Plato mistaken in his efforts to categorize democracy?  Plato made many excellent assumptions about democracy, but due to the checks and balances of power put in the Constitution of America the negative wishful prophecies has not happened.

            Plato in Book VIII of his Republic described 4 governments that ruled the different countries in his time.  There were many other governments out there as he called mystery governments, but the four he used were the four prevalent and most established governments.  The four governments were a government based on honour as he called timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny.[i]  Of these four, Plato dedicated the most discussion on democracy.  Plato felt that since it grew out of oligarchy and that it led to tyranny, which he believed was by far the worst form of government, that in turn it was a dreadful but deceitful form of government.

            Plato first disgust with democracy was its treatment of society as a whole.  Plato could not believe that democracy allowed everyone to believe that they were equal, and was due equal rights under the law.  He felt that this brought about a society “full of variety and disorder”.[ii]  This disorder was rooted in the equality that held a son on the same level as a father, a student equal with a scholar, a slave equal with a master, and a man equal with a woman.[iii]  Plato believed that the natural order of things or status of society brought about peace and harmony within society.  He believed that by making everyone equal, society would soon not respect the law.  How could a person respect the law if that person thought he was equal to the law?  Equality or Liberty as he called it was the basis of democracy, and that is where Plato believed caused all the problems.

            Plato believed that when people were equal with everyone else, including those that the law put in charge over them, many people would not follow the law.  Carelessness would abound within society.  From this selfishness over their Equality, Anarchy would spring up within the government.  Selfishness and Anarchy would lead to men not striving for greater ambitions like gymnastics, philosophy, or politics.[iv]  By society not caring about what is true and important, Plato believed that they would take up “useless and unnecessary pleasures”.[v]   Society would not follow the law, but their own individual passions in the name of Liberty and Equality.

 These useless pleasures would help bring about a new accepted language within the democracy.  Plato believed that democracy would use this language to call “insolence …breeding, and anarchy liberty, and waste magnificence, and impudence courage.”[vi]  This new language and a pursuit for bliss would never really become a reality Plato suggested.  This “distracted existence” lead to “neither law nor order”.[vii]  Without pursuing true realities and virtuous pursuits the democratic people could not support their own personal well being and the well being of the state.  He believed that these individuals in the democracy would become nothing more than “spendthrifts” or “drones”.[viii]

Drones are easily manipulated and distracted.  That is what Plato believed would happen to people of a democracy.  These drones would bring about tyranny within the government.  Plato foresaw that if society became drones that one could come as a “protector” of the State to guide it.[ix]  This protector would not remain a humble servant of the State but would continue in his appetite for power, swiftly devouring those that stood in his way, as a wolf would do, as Plato explained.[x]  Soon the democratic state that reveled in its Liberty and Equality would soon be ruled by a strong Tyrant.  All the individuals of the society would not be equal any longer because they would be the Tyrant’s servants.

This pessimistic view on the outcome of democracy could be plausible without any checks and balances that are found in the American democracy.  TV shows like The Jerry Springer Show prove to the world that democracy can foster a belief in people that relativism is the correct philosophy for government and society.  The Springer Show gives a voice to those people that have fallen love with the “useless and unnecessary pleasures” in life.  Everyone has a voice on The Springer Show.  They and their actions are considered to be equal with everyone else that knows better and lives a more moral/ethical life.  In many other high profile episodes of media the person that is given the spot of credibility is the person that acts like the true “individual”, that is not bound by rules or laws, and is dedicated to the pursuit of his/her pleasure.  This selfishness is reflected in Plato’s description of what society would become like in a democracy.  However, America with all of its individuals, equality, and pursuits of happiness has not allowed a tyrant to take control of America.  America has in its founding document proven checks and balances of power that ensure that America is safe from tyranny.

Two times in America’s history, America has come close in proving Plato correct.  America’s first President George Washington did such an excellent job as President in his first two terms, that many prominent people were calling for him to become King.  Fortunately for America Washington saw the folly of this action and stepped down as President and allowed the democratic process to continue.  However, if he had accepted the position as King of America it would have proven Plato completely correct.  Washington, a “protector” of the State during the Revolutionary War against Britain, helped make America, the democracy possible.  Then in its time of need Washington would have made himself the dictator just as Plato expected would happen.

In addition, President Roosevelt could have easily fit the mold of Plato’s destructive democracy tyrant.  President Roosevelt during his long administration became the ‘protector’ of America by single-handily, and sometimes strong-arming, America back to prosperity after the Great Depression.  His administration lasted 4 terms, which is the longest of any other President.  Many called for a 5^th term for this ‘protector’ of America, but he did not.  If he were able to “serve” again, he truly would have been able to take advantage of the system and mold it so that the position retained more power than should have.

In these two examples of America’s history we find that Plato’s assumptions of the democratic state could have easily become a reality.  Fortunately for the American society it did not and more checks and balances of power have been put into the democratic system to ensure no entity or person controls most of the power. 

As far as the individuals in America that pursue unnecessary pleasures, they are still restrained by the law.  Many of them might try to think that they’re an island and that neither law, nor man/woman will rule over them.  However, in America the law is the supreme ruler.  Those that break the rules are punished.  Again, fortunately for America there are still quite enough people that still care about greater things rather than selfish desires.  Many people still today give of themselves through volunteering, education, and physical fitness to maintain or improve their life and the lives of people around them.

Plato’s assumptions on democracy’s future were fearfully close to being correct.  However, Plato did not account for the checks and balances of power that can and is installed into democracies of the modern era.  However, one can still head the warnings put forth by Plato to ensure that democracy, a government for the people by the people, does not get ruined by a tyrant bent on making servants of the democratic people.

Bibliography

Plato. “The Republic; Book VIII.” The Internet Classics Archive| The Republic by Plato,

trans. B. Jowett, [cited 4 February 2002]; available

http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.9.viii.html; INTERNET.

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Date this page was last updated: 12/06/2002