In today's world, most people believe that democracy is the best form of government and that a ruler elected by the people is the safest way to guarantee that the majority's will is going to prevail. While that seems obvious for some, great thinkers throughout history have argued that when the majority is ignorant, their decision may not be the wisest choice.
In fact, Plato argued that democracy would only work if every elector was a philosopher. But if democracy is wrong, what is the best form of government then?
Plato's Five Forms of Government or the Five Regimes
In The Republic, Plato describes the five forms of government from best to worse and advocates that the ideal state is aristocratic. The five forms of government are:
- Aristocracy – this is the best form of government, according to Plato, in which the ruler is a philosopher, someone whose soul has been educated through the contemplation of arts and the exercise of the intellect. Having studied philosophy, this ruler would know the true virtues and, therefore, he would be able to lead people towards wellness and prosperity. Since the ruler would be virtuous, he would not want to deceive and abuse the citizens;
- Timocracy – this is the form of government ruled by warriors in which all the political decisions aim to bring military power and status. Timocrats may seek virtues just as the aristocrats, but they also pursue power, which can lead them to wars and combats. Timocracy, according to Plato, is a kind of government that arises when aristocracy starts to degenerate;
- Oligarchy – this is the system of government that establishes a division between the rich and the poor. The rich ones, which are fewer, rule and the poor must subject. This, according to Plato, is a problem because rich people are not necessarily virtuous, and when the power is in the hands of non-virtuous people, the rich will attempt to become richer and the poor might become even poorer due to bad policy, generating revolutions;
- Democracy – democracy is the child of oligarchy. Since people cannot agree with the rich ruling and deceiving the poor, people start to believe that if they could choose the ruler, their interest would prevail. The poor are greater in numbers so they elect one of them to be in charge. However, since the masses aren't educated to become virtuous or to exercise the intellect, they are not apt to make political decisions that prioritize their real needs;
- Tyranny –democracy naturally degenerates into tyranny and society becomes a total chaos in which there's no rule, no priorities and no laws. Whoever is stronger takes charge and does as he pleases. Nobody is able to remove a tyrant man from the power, as there's no law to be obeyed.
Plato on Democracy
Plato understood that democracy is one of the worst forms of government because nothing guarantees that a ruler elected by people is virtuous enough to know what's best for the masses. Only a philosopher would be truly compromised with people's wellness as he would have been educated to know what to prioritize in a hierarchy of values. The uneducated masses are ignorant about the reality of the soul and therefore, they would not be able to make the right political decisions.
So, unless the masses were educated into philosophy and arts, they would not be apt to choose a ruler who would represent their true needs instead of their illusory needs. The true needs, according to Plato, are the needs that lead to spiritual growth and wisdom and the illusory needs are those that please the senses and seek status.
Plato on Aristocracy
It is very important to point out that, according to Plato's philosophy, aristocracy is the best form of government as long as the ruler is totally compromised with the harmony of the population. Since the ruler would be truly virtuous, he would not want to rule in order to obtain status, power or accumulate wealth, but because he would know that the people need him to lead them towards growth and prosperity as Plato believed that the role of the philosophers is to serve humanity with their wisdom.
Did you know that Plato as well as Aristotle, defended slavery? Read Aristotle on Slavery to know why slavery is not wrong from the perspective of classical philosophy and Man is a Political Animal to find out about Aristotle's view on politics. To learn more about Platonic philosophy, read Plato's Ideal State along with What is Platonic Love.
Source:
Plato. The Republic, 360 B.C.E. Translation by Benjamim Jowett.
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