Platos Idea of the Emergence of Tyranny from Democracy Essay

What are tyrants, one might ask. In the current sense of the word a tyrant is pejorative term, applied to an individual in power who is selfish and self preserving. A tyrant is an immoral being, ruling over those around him through force, a tax on the freedom of those he subjugates. Yet the question that one should be asking is where do tyrants come from? Plato proposed that tyrants are a product of democracy, that the liberty inherent to a democracy allows the self interested to manipulate the system(generally through appealing to the population at large) causing a system with little liberty. This paper aims to defend the claims of Plato concerning tyranny, particularly the origins of tyrants, as well as to propose the safeguards that†¦show more content†¦Plato states that â€Å"the ones who are by nature most orderly generally become the wealthiest†( The Republic Book VIII 564e). Tyrants emerge where the drones manipulate the masses into despising the prosperous. Regardless of what someone believes causes certain individuals in a society to become wealthy and prosperous, it very hard to deny that the prosperous class does not provoke envy on the part of the non-prosperous. This is where the large uninterested portion of a democratic population make it possible for tyrants to emerge. Both parties (the prosperous and non-prosperous alike) select and support drones that defend their interests, as one group is busy procuring wealth, the other uninterested in pursuing political debate. The most successful of these drone are those that defend the interests of those they support the best, generally by victimizing members of the opposite camps and defending their own against the victimization of others. They gain power and prestige to the point that they can be called popular leaders. Tyrants evolve from popular leaders because they are able to victimize and scapegoat members of opposing camps with the support of the masses. The masses benefit from supporting their leader as he/she continues to defend their interests, and generally the loss of the victimsShow MoreRelatedThe French Revolution Essay examples1018 Words   |  5 Pagesspecific Ancient Greece. We shall compare dominant figures of both the French Revolution and Ancient Greece by using examples from writings from both ancient literature and contemporary and giving direct examples to support the ideas in this essay. Furthermore, this essay will discuss how similar the emergence of democracy in Ancient Greece is to the emergence of it in the French Revolution. The French Revolution was the first modern revolution in history. It is one of theRead Morehistory of philosophy5031 Words   |  21 Pagesï » ¿History of philosophy From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see  History of Philosophy (disambiguation). This article  may require  copy editing  for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling.You can assist by  editing it.  (April 2013) Philosophy Philosophers Aestheticians Epistemologists Ethicists Logicians Metaphysicians Social and political philosophers Traditions Analytic Continental Eastern Islamic Platonic Scholastic Periods Ancient Medieval Modern Read MoreGp Essay Mainpoints24643 Words   |  99 PagesGovernment Censorship d. Profit-driven Media e. Advertising f. Private life of public figures g. Celebrity as a role model h. Blame media for our problems i. Power + Responsibility of Media j. Media ethics k. New Media and Democracy 2. Science/Tech a. Science and Ethics b. Government and scientist role in science c. Rely too much on technology? d. Nuclear technology e. Genetic modification f. Right tech for wrong reasons 3. Arts/Culture a. Arts have aRead MoreThe Influence of Music on Self and Society - Values in Music in Eastern and Western Cultures8787 Words   |  36 Pagesmusic and as such it was imperative for artists within those cultures to exercise a certain moral and ethical responsibility in their creative endeavors. As a professional musician for over thirty years I concur with that premise and it is primarily from the axiological, rather than a theoretical or aesthetic viewpoint that I approach this discourse. The responsibility of artists to the social environment in which they live and work is something that I have always had strong sentiments. As we now find