Arguments of Plato About Republic - Essay Example

?Plato Republic, Book Eight Introduction This present philosophy essay is based on the arguments that were presented by Plato, in his Socratic dialogue that was titled “The Republic.” Plato is among the most renowned Ancient Greek philosophers who made a significant contribution towards intellectual and historical works of political theory and philosophy. The Socratic dialogue that was written by Plato around 380 BC focuses on defining what is justice and character as well as the order of a just man. This piece of Socratic dialogue further seeks to establish if indeed a just man is happier than a man who is unjust. In particular, this essay aims at supporting the arguments that were presented by Plato of which the main argument is that “the best form of government, aristocracy, will eventually devolve into the worst form of government tyranny.” This key argument is built on the premise that there are five forms of governments that comprise of lovers of honor also known as timocracy. The second form of government is lovers of money also known as oligarchy. The third form of government is lovers of freedom also known as democracy. The fourth form of government is the tyranny while the fifth form of government is the lovers of excellence, which is also known as the aristocracy or enlightened monarchy. Objectors of key premises Of all the five forms of government, aristocracy is touted to the best since it is widely considered good and just. However, a common objection to this argument is that individuals, who are from the highest class of the society, are the ones posed to lead an aristocrat government and they usually have money, land, and power. Objectors argue that in general sense, aristocrats are not able to relate with the common person and therefore, they will not be able to understand what is justice and good governance in the eyes of the common persons who normally make up the biggest percentage of the population The key premise of the Plato’s argument is that the aristocracy government will eventually convert to the worst form of government tyranny. Objections to this premise lies on the fact that the best form of government normally makes provisions that will allow active citizen participation and healthy engagement with the opposition, which means that there will be measures of checks and balance to ensure the aristocrat government does not sway to undesirable form of government. Therefore, objectors argue that there is no possibility for an aristocrat government devolving to become the worst form of government tyranny. Another key objection to the premise that have been presented by Plato is the fact that governments are not purely made up of specific groups of people, for example, those who love money, honor, freedom, or excellence. Objectors argues that it is impossible to have such unique forms of governments because government is composed of a representation of the people and therefore, it will be made up of people from different corners of the nation who subscribe to different ideologies but have a common purpose of serving the interest of their constituents. Replies to the objections Aristocracy government is made up of noble men who have worked hard in their entire life in order to even earn honorary titles if not entitled to them by virtue of family lineage. Therefore, they will instill the virtue of hard work to the common citizens whilst providing servant leadership. Secondly, the objections given above can be refuted on the basis that aristocrat have a reputation to maintain and therefore, in all natural sense they will work towards ensuring their reputation in maintained and upheld to the highest standards. Thirdly, because of the representation of constituents in the government, the aristocracy government will be able to know and understand the plight of the common citizens. Plato argued that the best form of government, aristocracy, will eventually devolve into the worst form of government tyranny. This argument is supported by the fact that the second generation after aristocrat leaders who will inherit power will likely be under a lot of pressure to make their own name and therefore, they will be eager to gain honor and victory even through war, which will give way to a trimocracy form of government. The second generation of aristocrats is bound to be used to power because of the fact that they were born in powerful homes and therefore, to maintain the status-quo these set of leaders will seek to acquire more money in order to retain their power and family honor. This will lead to oligarchy form of government that is in-existence in most parts of the world whereby most of the politicians who are wealthy use their political office as way of protecting their wealth. An oligarchy form of government will attract criticism from disadvantaged citizens since distribution of wealth will become unequal, which will create dissatisfied population that will seek to overthrow the government and enjoy equality. The recent uprising in the Arab countries best explains the transformation of an oligarchy form of government to a democratic form of government, where dissatisfied citizens have overthrown the government in order for the country to enjoy democracy. Since freedom will require some measures of law, it will mean that the democratic form of government will institute stringent regulations that will keep them in power and this will lead to the demise of democracy and birth of tyranny form of government. The above chronological account has clearly demonstrated how an aristocracy form of government will eventually devolve into the worst form of government tyranny. The third objection of the key premises stated that it is impossible to have a unique government that is made up of people with similar ideology i.e. lovers of money, honor, or freedom at the same times. However, Santas refutes this objection because on the fact that governments are made up of politicians from the party with the majority numbers in both houses and they subscribe to the same ideology as their political party (149-152). For example, in the US the present government runs of the ideologies of the Democratic Party. Theoretical observations In the writings by Santas, he argued that people who are previously preceived to be servant leaders turn into stereotypical politicians when they get in to power. He gives an example, that previously before Obama was elected into office, pundits perceived him to a leader who will strongly vote against war neither engage American military with combat situations. However, even with his re-election, Obama has failed to pull out all the American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan despite the promise he made during 2008 Presidential elections (188-196). Moreover, Obama was in the recent past seeking support from the political class in order to invade Syria and perhaps end the Syrian crisis. This refutes the earlier objections of the key premises that active participation by the citizens in governance issues and a strong opposition is likely to keep the government in-check. This is because, politicians based on their interest and external influences, will transform the government to another form other than aristocracy. Significance of the argument The arguments by Plato are significant because they try to explain the different forms of government that are in-existence in the world and their true meaning. Secondly, the argument presented by Plato perfectly explains the reason for the recent Arab uprising and even the direction towards which the new governments in the affected Arab countries are likely to head. More importantly, the Plato argument explains that it is impossible to have the best form of government within a steady and long duration because it will eventually devolve into the worst government. Works Cited Santas, Gerasimos. Understanding Plato’s Republic. Oxford: wiley-Blackwell. 2010 Print Read More