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DEMOCRACY

POLITICS


It’s a betiful idea: everyone’s vote is equal, whatever their income or education. It feels profoundly wicked to say a word against democracy. Yet democracy is obviously a touch unreasonable – and the Greek philosophers knew it. Plato said so most clearly in his great book, The Republic: it’s impossible that every single person’s view can be equally astute. A democratic vote is like the captain of a ship having to consult every passenger about the best course to chart through an approaching storm. For admirable reasons, we are committed to a political system that is problematic. The solution – according to Plato – should be intense universal education to foster wisdom in everyone. We cannot allow everyone to vote until everyone has learnt to think. Till then we need to laugh warmly at the tragi-comic nature of our predicament. There will be a lot of erratic choices. The Ancient Greek philosophers – whom we mistakenly believe all loved democracy – had a clear-eyed view of the many problems that might crop up; it was, after all, they who invented the word ‘demagogue’ to describe a political leader who, in a democracy, sweeps into power by collecting votes through appeals to the lower passions rather than higher


This article Is from The School Of Life 


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