Related questions:
v What are the major problems of Plato’s political philosophy?
INTRODUCTION
This write-up intends to look into some of the major pitfalls in Plato’s political philosophy. The philosopher king is upheld by Plato as the ideal key to an ideal state. But how viable and possible is this?
WHO IS A PHILOSOPHY KING
Stating who, according to Plato, is a philosopher king is a good starting point for objecting Plato’s philosophy. This is because the very idea of a philosopher king is probably not achievable.
· A peep into Plato’s political philosophy
Apart from the tripartite concept of justice in man and the state, which forms a large chunk of the core of Plato’s political philosophy; Plato advocates that for an ideal state to occur, there are some absolute and perfect standards of goodness existing, by which the ideal, state must be structured. However, no man except the philosopher has access to these perfect standards. Thus, only philosophers should be made guardians or rulers, so that they can guide the state along these right ways.
· Have we had a philosopher king?
Looking back into history and progressing to these contemporary times, one would definitely see that the ideal of a philosopher king is only illusionary. If it were not so, then probably Plato himself could have been a philosopher king in his own time. There is no doubt that philosophers are intelligent and professional thinkers. But, this is only as a reason of the training philosophy gives. Thus, there is no basic spectacular difference in the intellectual ability of a philosopher (like what Plato believes) and that of an average or above average intelligent person.
Having refuted the idea of a philosopher king, Plato’s criticism and disagreement with democracy becomes questionable.
PLATO AND DEMOCRACY
Democracy in Plato’s days was structurally different from what it is now. It entailed the interference of a specific part of the public (masses), directly in the government or rule of the state. But, contemporary democracy as a good form of government, entails that the ruler is fully aware of the people’s needs and thus, use his office to implement productive opportunities to stabilize these needs.
· Why Plato disagrees with democracy
The reason is simple and that is, the absolute standards of goodness by which society should be tailored can only be known by the philosopher who then must be the ruler. But, it has been initially shown that the idea of a philosopher king is illusionary. Thus, Plato’s disagreement with democratic government is faulty.
· The function of a ruler
In any society, the function of a ruler is mainly to discover the interests of his subjects and create ways to positively harness them. Thus, a ruler is not to choose what he thinks is right for his subjects but to reflect what they want, in such a manner that would promote peaceful co-existence among them. Various individuals have differing interests, thus, a good leadership must provide ways for stabilizing and standardizing such differing interests.
· The “end” of Plato’s philosopher king
If a society were to adopt Plato’s ideal of a philosopher king, it would be running at a great loss. This is because there is a great tendency of the ruler becoming authoritarian, and he would do and undo. Thus, he would be above the law, for there is no way he would become subject to it, as he created it. In other words, tyranny would become the order of the day.
THE ADVANTAGE OF DEMOCRACY
One arguing for Plato may want to postulate that the rule by the many is a rule by the unskilled. Even if this were so, it would be an ideal thing to give the many a chance in order to make mistakes and thus learn from them (at least it is justified that they bear the responsibility of their collective mistakes). Even Plato asserts that “democracy is...the best of all lawless governments”. This means that it has the potential of doing the less harm to society. By convention no one is perfect, so why put the life of many in the hands of one man who could end up being manipulative and authoritarian. Why then not give the many a chance, in order to become morally and socially sound, than leaving them stunted at the mercy of a tyrannous few.
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CONCLUSION
The main point made here is that the actualization of a philosopher king is a waste of time as no man is infallible. Even Karl Marx’s philosophy (which has been regarded as one of the best political philosophies ever) supports socialism which entails a rule by the many (the working class masses). Thus, democracy as opposed to Plato should be given a chance to thrive. Consequently, society would grow and mature positively; and all would benefit immensely.
