Plato's Views on Democracy: Part IV

φιλοσοφία


Here is the fourth installment to this long post. I will try and conclude my thoughts within this section.


This is where Plato's thoughts become relevant.

Plato would propose that the best form of government is one that is governed by the best form of people. He would also posit that a true democracy would not qualify as it allows all people access to power by way of a equal vote. Plato's view here extended from his belief that man could become enlightened and reach a higher state of thinking. Of course, that enlightened man was the philosopher who he believed in so completely. No surprises there. We find this belief present in his analogy of the cave, and how it was used to explain how enlightenment was achieved. Plato's philosopher-kings were those enlightened beings who were capable of ruling by this higher state of thought, which, in its context, makes its own statement regarding government. Those enlightened were those that escaped the "metaphorical' cave to experience the true light and life outside of the cave, but they were also the ones to return to the cave to free others so the others could experience the true light as well.

For Plato, enlightenment was not just an escape from the cave; it was also a return to the cave. To escape the cave required a number of strengths, but to return to the same cave required all of those strengths and more. To return to the place of pre-enlightenment would be dangerous if one was not truly enlightened. This was also a statement regarding what true enlightenment was: it was an escape from a cave of confinement, and the development of the courage in order to return to the place of one's confinement to free others so they too could experience the true light. This idea of enlightenment embodied the idea of selflessness. One cannot be enlightened without being selfless according to Plato.

Plato posited that a true democracy had no hope of producing a philosopher-king because it had no process of enlightenment. And, even if it did, a true democracy would allow everyone the same equal chance to rule regardless of status or gift. Remember, he thought that only the ruling class should rule.

Let's look at our Constitution briefly.

The preamble to the United States Constitution reads:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It is the people, collectively, who establish, insure, provide, promote and secure through the power of the vote, but when "union" is lost and division becomes reality, then a democracy becomes nothing more than a totalitarian action with those in power controlling those who provided them the power. And, that is where we find ourselves today. The belief that the nature of man is good has adversely affected the populous, and remember, a misinformed populous is the key to destroying a democracy. Those in power are those in control of the growing majority, and they, buy virtue of the power given to them by the majority, make up the rules, by virtue of a division of the unity. They keep the misinformed in the dark with a cycle of lies and half-truths until confusion reigns. It is a vicious cycle that is accelerated by the dichotomies of what is believed to be true and false and good and bad. Each is defined according to those in power, and this is directly related to the beliefs that the majority hold to be true. This is how power is distributed in a democracy, and this is how close a democracy is to totalitarianism.

When the concern for the state or for power becomes more important than the concern for the people or for preserving the constitution, then, we no longer have a democracy. This is Plato's issue with a democracy; he believed it would eventually break down. Plato can not be considered a Christian by any means, but he should be viewed in a different light than the majority of the Greeks regarding his beliefs concerning the divine. The Greeks viewed  their gods very much like humans; they were jealous, arrogant, full of gossip and selfish. Plato thought the gods should only be seen as good and pious because that was the way he perceived the nature of divinity. Plato spoke of a story of creation, but warned that it was only a story. Part of his tale was that God, singular, created the universe out of his likeness out of chaos. It is my belief that Plato's view of the divine affected his view of democracy. I believe Plato understood the true nature of man better than most, and therefore, saw the nature of man contributing to the ultimate failure of a true democracy. Plato's views of democracy do not account for the influence of capitalism or a system of checks and balances, as is our current form of democracy. Our current problem is that both have been compromised.

Well, there you have it. This concludes my very informal thoughts on Plato's views of democracy. These scattered thoughts were the product of a series of podcasts by Peter Adamson entitled, The History of Philosophy without Any Gaps. I highly recommend them.