The Paradox Of Democracy In Plato's The Republic

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Plato uses the ship analogy to demonstrate the paradox of democracy; as more power is distributed to create equality among people, desire for personal gains will lead to the worst of all regimes: tyranny. Plato suggests that regardless of people’s desire for equality and peace as they accept their fundamental functions within a society, democracy can easily turn into a tyranny if the rulers are trusted too much with deciding for large number of people, without any regulations.
Plato claims that though democracy is flawed just like the other form of regimes, its transition into tyrannical state where a tyrant rules all without any consent of/for people, allows one to realize the importance of preserving a democratic rule. Democratic rule may …show more content…

Before elaborating on the demise of democracy, let us state what the word means and what it stands for?
Democracy is defined as a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Hence, democracy allows equality among people where people of every background (whether rich or poor), are granted a platform to voice their opinions over how they want to live in a society. Specifically, people have the right to choose how they want their needs to be met in order to lead a prosperous life through open elections. Democracy, where vast majority has power over their lives, encourages equality among men by creating a sense of …show more content…

The ship is a representative of an Athenian state and the captain is the Athenian people. Athenian people own the state and have power to choose the ruler. The crew members on board are the politicians who constantly bicker among themselves over how to navigate the ship. They also try to do all they can to get the captain to give them the hold of the ship. These sailors refuse to recognize that the true navigator is the best fit to lead the ship since he knows how to control a ship more than anyone else on board. Instead, they believe that the sailor with most charisma and desire to lead should be the one in charge of navigating the ship. The sailors end up replacing the true

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