I was doing research today on the word "timocracy" and found an interesting paper -- The Five Stages of Government: Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, Tyranny. It is a discussion about book VIII of "The Republic," Plato has Socrates describe the five stages. Below are a few quotes.
In an aristocracy, the good and wise leaders, being human, will fail. The intelligence of the senses will seduce them into producing children and future leaders unworthy to be guardians of the state, people who are chained by their senses. . . Philosophers will lose their power to warriors, who are cruder and less knowledgeable about philosophy, leading to Timocracy.
Timocracy is pattered after Sparta. Here the warriors will rule, but the moneyed class will be empowered. . . Property will eventually be coveted more than the good on the state. Personal ambition will replace ambition for the state. Citizens will become overly obedient to the state. Timocracy will give way to Oligarchy.
As personal wealth becomes more important, its presence is needed in order to rule. The guardians of the state are all rich and to classes appear -- the rich and the poor. The rih have the power; the poor don't. As the rich make more and more decisions based upon their own personal welfare, more cries for justice and equality are heard and democracy is born.
In democracy, the desire for freedom will prove to be its downfall. In a democracy the people rule and the rulers are the slaves to the people. The people demand more and more freedom, until they are free to do anything they want, without responsibility to anyone. Soon the anarchy descends into the family. The father is equal with his sons, and he begins to fear them. And the sons no longer respect their father, for he is their equal and they are free to do as they please.
The ruin of oligarchy is the ruin of democracy; the same disease magnified and intensified by liberty overmasters democracy -- the truth being that the excessive increase of anything often causes a reaction in the opposite direction . . . The excess of liberty, whether in States or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery. And so tyranny naturally arises out of democracy.
The paper is an interesting read in light of what is taking place in the world today, especially when you consider that Plato died 2,358 years ago. Read the paper online at --
http://www.olearyweb.com/classes/philosophyS2/readings/plato/Stages06.pdf
In an aristocracy, the good and wise leaders, being human, will fail. The intelligence of the senses will seduce them into producing children and future leaders unworthy to be guardians of the state, people who are chained by their senses. . . Philosophers will lose their power to warriors, who are cruder and less knowledgeable about philosophy, leading to Timocracy.
Timocracy is pattered after Sparta. Here the warriors will rule, but the moneyed class will be empowered. . . Property will eventually be coveted more than the good on the state. Personal ambition will replace ambition for the state. Citizens will become overly obedient to the state. Timocracy will give way to Oligarchy.
As personal wealth becomes more important, its presence is needed in order to rule. The guardians of the state are all rich and to classes appear -- the rich and the poor. The rih have the power; the poor don't. As the rich make more and more decisions based upon their own personal welfare, more cries for justice and equality are heard and democracy is born.
In democracy, the desire for freedom will prove to be its downfall. In a democracy the people rule and the rulers are the slaves to the people. The people demand more and more freedom, until they are free to do anything they want, without responsibility to anyone. Soon the anarchy descends into the family. The father is equal with his sons, and he begins to fear them. And the sons no longer respect their father, for he is their equal and they are free to do as they please.
The ruin of oligarchy is the ruin of democracy; the same disease magnified and intensified by liberty overmasters democracy -- the truth being that the excessive increase of anything often causes a reaction in the opposite direction . . . The excess of liberty, whether in States or individuals, seems only to pass into excess of slavery. And so tyranny naturally arises out of democracy.
The paper is an interesting read in light of what is taking place in the world today, especially when you consider that Plato died 2,358 years ago. Read the paper online at --
http://www.olearyweb.com/classes/philosophyS2/readings/plato/Stages06.pdf
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