Winston Churchill said that “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the rest.” Compare and contrast conceptions of democracy in the two theorists we have studied.
Democracy is defined as “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.” The concept of all the citizenry of a state participating in and having a say in the affairs of the state was controversial in the past and is still semi-controversial now. In this essay, I will explore the conceptions of democracy from both Plato's and Aristotle’s lenses and how they relate to common notions and executions of it in today’s global society.
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Breaking Down the Quote
To break down both Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on democracy, we must first analyze Winston Churchill and the meaning behind his quote. Winston Churchill was a United Kingdom Parliamentarian and subsequent Prime Minister, who led Britain to victory in World War II. Churchill publicly was a constant proponent of democracy, speaking positively on it: “At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper—no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point.” Winston Churchill put value in the ideals of democracy, and stated that the most powerful tool that each individual has is their vote; more important than “rhetoric or voluminous discussion.” However, these past admissions and glorifications do not discredit the quote from the prompt. It appears that Churchill did have reservations with the democratic form of the rule, and the ails that come from such a system. The full quote from Winston Churchill on November 11, 1947, goes as follows: “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…” In interpreting this quote, Churchill admits that no form of government is perfect and that democracy is not safe from this reality either. But, Churchill does attribute democracy to being worse than “all those other forms.” So, what are the problems with democracy that Churchill is referring to? Plato and Socrates have their own answers to this.
Plato
Plato was not particularly democracy’s biggest fan. Plato spotted many weak points in a democratic state and often warned against allowing a complete democracy to rule. In The Republic, Plato spun leaders of a democracy to be of “false and braggart words and opinions,” and to be utterly corrupt and self-serving. Plato viewed democracy as a venue for allowing a “tyrant” to infiltrate and take power over society. His fear of the possibility of a tyrant being able to usurp power stems from the caution against “mob rule,” which Plato had valid concerns over. When democracy came to Athens in the mid-500s BCE, it was composed in a way that allowed the “citizens” of Athens to directly elect officials and vote on pieces of legislation. Athenian Democracy continued; allowing the common folk to be empowered in an unprecedented fashion. Aristocrats no longer had a stranglehold on politics, and anyone could ascend to power and participate in government. However, just like subsequent democracies: this democracy was nowhere near “perfect.” When it is stated that all “citizens” could vote, this only accounts for about 20% of the human population of Athens. You had to be a free man who had completed his mandatory military service. This fact completely excluded women, enslaved men, and any man who had not yet completed his military requirements. Along with this baseline flaw, there were also other criticisms that stemmed from Plato himself. The most horrendous result of allowing democracy to occur is once again: the threat of mob rule. In Athens, the majority always won, and this was the case for any issue at hand. Executions were commonplace for those accused of wrongdoing or a crime and were decided by a majority vote of the citizens present. Plato had a very personal connection to this atrocity through his very close friend, Socrates. Socrates had been a fellow philosopher in Athens and spoke out about things that he deemed necessary and important. He was known for his intellect and thought-provoking words at the time and sought to educate and incite the public to think. Describing himself as a “gadfly” who served to “sting” Athens and spur politico-philosophical thought, Socrates annoyed countless individuals and made quite a sizable base of enemies. Three Athenian citizens, Anytus, Meletus, and Lycon conspired together and formally accused Socrates of crimes in order to have him executed. They accused Socrates of impiety against the Gods, and of morally corrupting the Athenian youth. Socrates accredited these accusations as stemming from prejudice and years of disdain towards him and his actions and completely turned the trial onto his accusers. Socrates utilized legal, moral, and philosophical reasoning to completely discredit and dismantle their arguments against him. However, the masses still decided to find him guilty and sentence him to death anyway. Socrates had the chance to flee and live safely in exile, but he thought that immoral, and faced his demise. Plato was able to witness the dangers of mob rule and democracy first-hand. One of his closest friends was unjustly murdered by democracy, and this presents one of the biggest concerns with the form of government. Plato described the trial and subsequent execution as: “a doctor being persecuted by a pastry chef and judged by a jury of children.” His criticisms lie with such a renowned and intelligent figure being persecuted by those with faulty ulterior motives, and then being judged by incompetent regular citizens. Plato points to this “jury of children” as being one of the main strikes against democracy. In a purely democratic government, each and every citizen is entitled to their say and their vote; no matter how, for lack of a better word, stupid it may be. In a democracy, we allow all of these peoples’ opinions to be translated into the vote, which in turn directly affects policy, decisions, and who is in power. Plato points to these regular executions in Athens as an argument against democracy. During the Peloponnesian War (431 to 405 B.C.E.), there was the case of the ten treasurers of the Delian League being accused of “embezzling funds” from the treasury. Athenian Democracy tried and found nine of these treasurers guilty, and executed them consecutively until only one was left. Once the accounting error was discovered, and it was realized that the ten treasurers were actually not embezzling money, the last remaining treasurer was set free. These sad truths of democracy can still be felt today in examples such as wrongful convictions and executions. Mob rule can also materialize itself in the passing of acts or decisions that are widely malignant and unintelligent, such as the UK voting to leave the European Union in “Brexit.” Plato experienced these same happenings and warned about them continuing on in democratic societies. Moving on from mob rule, Plato also warned of an even more existential threat that he claims spawns from democracy. Plato predicted a society that possessed a sizable socioeconomic chasm, where the rich would get richer off of the masses. Plato attributes these inevitable inequalities as stoking instability, and causing revolutions and uprisings within the nation. Plato says that these revolutions will continue to spur instability and chaos within the nation, and will prompt drawn-out wars that will result in blood and carnage. Plato does not see a world in which democracy could suit everyone’s needs, act justly, and provide a stable and safe state for its citizens. Plato hypothesized that democracies would inevitably end up being run by “bullies and brutes,” and that mob rule allows these tyrants to take over and wreak their havoc, and he may have been correct if one takes a look at any of the current democratic nations.
Aristotle
Aristotle, another great ancient philosopher of Ancient Greece, had his own thoughts on democracy and the ideal form of government. Aside from Aristotle’s poor views on women and his pro-slave rhetoric, Aristotle had a lot of points to make on democracy. Aristotle believed in aristocracy, that the “best” should rule over the rest of the population. While opposed to traditional aristocracies, where the leaders were chosen based on blood and lineage, in Aristotle’s ideal government, the aristocracy would be chosen upon pure superior merit. Aristotle believed that in a democracy, there is no rule of law. He believed that the will of the people is sovereign and that the masses will do whatever they want, no matter the laws or the power of the state. In a democracy, the will of the people is given absolute power, according to Aristotle. Aristotle continually warned against what we might call “populist” democracies, where people would take absolute control of their government. He views this type of rule as having complete disregard for the law and the balance of order and instead believes that only a few should wield the mighty power over a state. Aristotle did not trust the common person to make grave decisions and surely did not trust the common person to have absolute power. Aristotle viewed that the state and nation as a whole would be better off in the care of a principled, experienced, and intelligent few. In a pure democracy, Aristotle feared the possibility of a democratic demagogue infiltrating, winning over the populace, and securing power. He did not trust the people to be able to discern truth from lies, and false promises from real ones. With this pessimistic view, he believed that a tyrant would have an ample chance to usurp leadership and cause mass political, economic, and social destruction.
Conclusion
Plato and Aristotle (and Winston Churchill) make valid and serious points about democracy. They both point to serious grievances that can be backed up with vast historical context, and they warned of things that we see happening in today’s world. However, just like Winston Churchill said, “Democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the rest.” I agree completely with this quote because while democracy has so many problems with it, it’s credibly better than other possible forms of government that may disenfranchise and disengage the people with the affairs of their own governments.
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