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The Pros And Cons Of Democracy In The Republic

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Why did Plato reject democracy in The Republic? Cormac O'Herlihy 14318287 There is a strong case to be made to call Plato the greatest of all ancient Philosophers, and a stronger one still to say that The Republic was the greatest of his works. Written as a dialectic between Socrates, Plato's teacher, and a number of Socrates friends and students, The Republic deals with the question of Justice, the character of the just city/society, and the just man. The first seven of the ten books concern themselves with the definition of justice, and the structure of a just city state, with a Guardian class to act as its leaders and protectors. It is not until book 8 that Plato addresses the matter of different systems of rule. He says that there is a natural progression, through aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and finally, to tyranny. He rejects each of these structures as being undesirable. It is not controversial to say, as Susan Moller does, that “The Republic is an extremely radical dialogue” (Philosopher Queens, 346). From a modern perspective, it may seem most unsettling to wonder why one of the …show more content…

That good is “freedom... the glory of the democratic state”(The Republic, Plato). Democracy emphasizes maximum freedom and personal liberty, but Plato imagines that this leads to a kind of anarchy with “subjects who are like rulers and rulers who are like subjects” (The Republic, Plato). Plato fears a breakdown of the natural order of society, a corruption in the hierarchy upon which Athenian society was based. Then this “anarchy finds its way into private houses” (The Republic, Plato), with sons disobeying fathers and slaves turning against their masters. Society as a whole will strive for the extremes of liberty; freedom of slaves, and the liberty and equality of the

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The united states is described as a federal democratic republic because we aren't ruled by any kings or queens like countries such as the united kingdom, Netherlands or morocco etc. a president is elected to run the country by the people. A federal government is a type of government made that includes states or provinces and the central government has some power to individual areas. Other countries that are a federal republic are Mexico, Germany, Argentina, Ethiopia and Switzerland . A federal democratic republic gives states the opportunity to make some decisions and control over their activities.

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“The Fundamental Principle of a Republic” is a speech about women’s suffrage spoken by Anna Howard Shaw. This specific speech was given at the New York State equal suffrage campaign at the City Opera House in Ogdensburg, New York on June 21, 1915. Anna Howard Shaw was a well-known suffrage orator and social reformer. In addition to talking about women’s suffrage, this speech mentions how we, as a country, say we are a Republic but we really aren’t.

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Without a large republic not only are you going to have the tyranny of the majority, but you are not going to have a unified country. If we become factionalized to the point where every person represents their own views we are going to be headed towards civil war quickly, and we are going to break up as a nation. By having a large republic and by having all of these voices silenced in their factions we can stay coherent. Madison comes to the conclusion we are not going to have a large enough faction to tear the nation apart, but he is wrong because different opinions will always exist as long as people are free and self-love exist. These factions are inevitably going to tear the nation apart.

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Jeffersonian Democracy impact in politics, which led rivalry between Jefferson and Hamilton. It led argued between formation of political parties of Democracy-Republic and Federalist. Jefferson’s part as Democracy- Republic, which favored economic freedom and agriculture. Whereas, Hamilton Federalist party favored industrializing and wanted federal control. Also, Federalist Party wanted strong central government.

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Democracy is built on the idea that everyone is created equal and has equal rights. However, during the Early Republic, the existence of slavery contradicted this principle. This created a paradox that America struggled to solve for many years. Despite the principles of democracy, slavery was allowed to continue, and the founders of America placed limitations on who could participate in the political process based on factors like race, gender, and property ownership. This perpetuated the paradox and created a long struggle for equality and freedom that continues to this day.

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Alexis de Tocqueville penned Democracy in America after he spent month America in the 1831, where he witnessed a new democratic system. He found it’s concepts to have unique strengths and weaknesses that he believed could be the inspiration for the new government of post-revolution France. The concepts of limiting individualism, encouraging positive associations, and moderating the tyranny of the majority that Tocqueville observed during his trip in America helped maintain the new democratic republic built after the revolution. As soon as America became free from British rule, their groundwork for their new government helped cement them as a true democracy since it contended with individualism. Tocqueville noticed that after a successful

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While some, like Plato in his The Republic, thought it weak to give government into the hands of the common people, Pericles countered this argument with a compelling argument of greatness. By putting government into the hands of the people, the people are united and more devoted to their country. Democracy bonds the people together in a way that no other government can understand. Pericles confidently states, “Athenians advance unsupported into the territory of a neighbor, and fighting upon a foreign soil usually vanquish with ease men who are defending their homes.”

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Failure during the Peloponnesian War caused Greeks to question democracy and traditional Greek values. Plato disagreed with the way the state was run, especially after Athens’ loss at war. He discusses the meaning of justice and outlines how the ideal state should be governed in The Republic. He believes that the ideal state should be governed by a class of guardian rulers, who were trained as philosopher-kings. These rulers are the only members of society who could understand the Form of the Good and would be able to rule justly and logically.

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What is justice? This is the crucial question that Plato attempts to answer in his dialogue, The Republic. He conjures up an allegory that justice can be found in a person, and a person can represent a city. Thus, his entire dialogue focuses on this ‘just’ city and the mechanics of how the city would operate. His dialogue covers a myriad of topics about justice in addition to the human soul, politics, goodness and truth.

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Established on September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed rights for its citizens. The Constitution also represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism that the United States of American stands by. This means that the Constitution regards to the American citizen as something that is held to deserve meaning the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. It also means its citizens come first in order of importance. The Constitution represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism by stressing liberty and inalienable rights as central values, making the people as a whole sovereign, rejecting inherited political power, expecting citizens to be independent in their performance of civic duties, and vilifies corruption.

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Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. University of the People Student X Written assignment unit 2 Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. 1 Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. Introduction Before all let define democracy, so it is defined as a type of government where people exert the sovereignty.

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In Book IV of Plato’s Republic, Socrates and his peers come to the conclusion that a city is going to need people who have an understanding of what justice should be. Socrates at the end of Book IV can make the difference between individual, political, and social justice. He knows that individual and political justice is so much in common because they both weigh in heavy on truth, honor, and appetitive soul. That appetitive soul is an element that helps the secure the just community with love and support.

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Plato regarded justice as the true principle of social life. Plato in his day found a lot of evil in society. He saw unrighteousness rampant and injustice enthroned.

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Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, ¨Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.¨(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens, was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not even using the essentials of democracy that is used today, “Thus, by our standards, it was oligarchy, not democracy.¨(Document D), therefore ancient Athens was not using democracy as their form of government, they were using oligarchy,another form of government in which a small group of people has power and control, as their form of government instead of democracy.

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I believe that Plato believes that people are inherently good and they will do what is morally right and just for society. They will earn their right to power and ensure fairness for all to prevent the tyrants from trying to take control. Plato mentions three main arguments regarding

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