Plato’s democracy naturally sprang from oligarchy. When a group of leaders start to corrupt and utilize the law for their own benefits (namely, to gather riches) against others’, the ruled will revolt and overthrow the rulers, thereby establishing democracy. Democracy, by its nature, is the equality of all people before the law, and the equality of all human’s desires, necessary or unnecessary alike. It is a society that embraces all diversities and offer freedom or all, and therefore is a utopia that should be attained. Or is it?
Plato argues that because democracy allows people to do whatever pleases them, the society will fall apart because most people can only see and strive for short-term happiness. The lower class, the main party that has revolted against the oligarchical rulers and gave the right to rule to all people, may not have the wisdom and the capability to rule, so they may not know what is good for them on the long run. Given the choice to decide what constitutions should be enacted and who should represent the population when it comes to politics, people will not choose rightly because they are not wise by nature and not educated enough to know what should be done instead of what is pleasant for them, namely the unnecessary and vain desires with which the “democratic man” is obsessed. Then the society will be plunged to anarchy, where people can do whatever they want, even breaking the laws.
Instead of democracy, aristocracy is what Plato believes to be the best form of government. It is different from oligarchy in the way that the rulers are “philosopher kings,” who get access to the Knowledge of the Good, which means they know what is best for all people. Since the philosophers know the supreme truths and practice asceticism, they will not place their benefits against others’ and will rule the society with justice and morality. However, this notion proves invalid, because knowledge alone cannot guarantee charismatic capabilities, the ability to balance between what is pleasant and what is right, and other skills needed in a leader. Furthermore, philosophers are still human and will likely succumb to other human desires and can be corrupted by the society, so eventually they will pose the same problems as oligarchical rulers do. The needs of anyone should be addressed by everyone, because a person or even a group of people cannot represent and rule such a diverse and intricate society.
Plato believes that the nature of democracy’s failure is normal people’s lack of knowledge and the absolute freedom of all people. Until now, those problems have been solved to some extent by the modern form of democracy. The majority that has the right to vote nowadays is no longer just the lower class because the society has evolved into a diverse world of people coming from all the walks of life, most of which Plato could not know about. Their educational level collectively is definitely much higher than that of the lower class in antiquity, so they can separate what is pleasant and what is beneficial in the long run. Furthermore, democracy guarantees people’s equal chance to express their needs and wants rather than satisfies all of them. All that is right and just in accordance with the laws and common morality will be allowed, and vice versa.
