This post is only for smart people.
I was lucky enough to have a conversation with Dr. Cornel West at Freedom Fest, and as is his wont, he went back to the classics. He reminded me of this passage from The Republic, which Plato wrote in 360BC, which I am now going to remind you of.
The text below is based on my copy of the Republic at home (the Tom Griffith translation). I’ve made some of the language a little more accessible, so it’s not verbatim. If you haven’t read Plato he uses this form of a discussion often to illustrate points. Glaucon was Plato’s older brother.
Plato’s Warning: How Democracy Becomes Tyranny
Socrates: So, Glaucon, let’s consider how tyranny arises. It’s clear, I think, that it comes from democracy.
Glaucon: But democracy is government by the people? Isn’t that the opposite of tyranny?
Socrates: Well — excessive freedom in a democracy — the desire to be completely free — can lead to its downfall. People start to resent all forms of authority, even necessary ones.
Glaucon: I’ve noticed that.
Socrates: Eventually, people become so obsessed with freedom that they refuse to obey even their own laws. Children stop listening to parents, students to teachers, and citizens to officials. Even animals start acting free — dogs and horses behave just like their owners.
Glaucon: You’re painting quite the picture, Socrates.
Socrates: It gets worse. The democratic person thinks everyone is equal, and so he puts all desires on the same level — whether they are good or harmful. But when there’s no order or discipline, chaos creeps in. And from that chaos, people begin to look for a strong leader — someone who promises to protect them from the disorder they’ve created.
Glaucon: You mean the people elect a tyrant??
Socrates: Exactly. At first, he seems like a champion of the people. He attacks the rich, gives gifts, and promises to bring justice. But he only says these things to gain power.
Glaucon: And once he has it?
Socrates: Then he shows his true nature. He starts wars to distract the people and suppress dissent. Anyone who opposes him is labeled a traitor. He surrounds himself with flatterers and eliminates real friends. In the end, the man who rose to power by promising freedom becomes a tyrant who enslaves.
Glaucon: So democracy, in seeking freedom above all else, ends up delivering the harshest slavery.
Socrates: Precisely. The people, trying to escape the rule of law, fall under the rule of a single lawless man. Tyranny is democracy’s final stage — born from its own excesses.
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