Defenses for Democracy Essay -- Papers Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Defenses for Democracy Is liberty a bad thing? Socrates seemed to think so. In Book VIII of Plato's Republic, Socrates criticizes democracy by attacking three of its most important aspects: liberty, equality, and majority rule. He asserts that because of these things, a democratic city will always fall into tyranny. I disagree, and feel that all three of the principles are essential to a fair and just city, and only in their absence can a city be taken into tyranny. Socrates begins his observations on the defects of a democratic government by first attacking liberty. His main argument is that there is entirely too much of it. People in a democracy are free to do what they wish in their lives and are free to chose what if any job they will do. Socrates asks if, like the man with the democratic soul, they will not just pass the time and not get much done (Plato, 557e). This may be true, but people who do not work do not eat. In Socrates city, much like in a communist regime, all of the people in a city are responsible for the common good of all of the other members of their city. A man who does nothing would truly be a burden on this society, but unlike in Socrates city, or a communist state, in a capitalist democracy people are responsible for their own survival, and a man must work if he is to have a food, shelter, and all of the other necessities of life. When describing his just city, Socrates was very much in favor of specialization of labor (Plato, 367e-372b), so for a man to try many things would go against his concept of what belongs in a good city. But Shouldn?t one try one?s hand at many tasks until one find a job that best fulfills one?s soul? In Alienated Labor, Ka... ...ey would still be in existence today. Bibliography: Davis, Michael. The Politics of Philosophy. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1996 Hamilton, Alexander. Constitutional Convention Address. Constitutional Convention, Philadelphia. 29 Jul. 1787 Durant, Will. The Story of Philosophy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1961 Guigon, Charles, ed. The Good Life. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 1999 Kennedy, John F. Speech at San Diego State College. San Diego State College, San Diego. 06 Jun. 1963 Macaulay, Thomas Babbington Ed. Scott, Allan. The Works of Thomas Babbington Macaulay. London: Wordsworth Poetry Library, 1995 Marx, Karl. Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts. Germany: 1844 Plato, Ed. Allan Bloom. Republic. USA: Basic Books, 1991 Spooner, Lysander. An Essay on the Trial By Jury. London: 1852