Plato today

So up to this point I have shied away from politics but, the truth is, it is a topic that I spend a fair bit of time thinking about.  That said I should explain my view on politics as I would like to think that I am not your run of the mill partisan.   My academic background is in political science and philosophy.  I was always draw more toward the theoretical side out political science rather than the nuts and bolts of how it gets done.  The notion that all political science it eventually a response to The Republic by Plato was and is a compelling argument that I think has more of an effect on our common political squabbles that people realize.  We still struggle with the very criticisms that Plato laid on the doorstep of democracy (and some we have yet to answer.)

Fundamental to Plato’s critique was the believe that the weak point to the democratic ideal was the very nature of the people involved.  Plato believed that the people that would seek out power in a democratic society where, for the most part, exactly the people you did not want to have power in the first place.  For Plato, the only acceptable reason for wishing to pursue office in a system such as our would be out of fear of someone else doing it.  In most cases, however, those seeking power do so for the sake of gain power over everything else.  As Lord Action would say it several centuries later; “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  The is key to Plato’s criticism and is key to our own struggle with our American democracy.  I do thin to read this as applied to the individual participants however would be missing the bigger and more concerning point. 

If you carry Plato’s concern out, especially in modern times, you end up with government being filled with individuals who have spent considerable time planning for a roll in power.  That is to say, looking at those in power and emulating the model presented as a way to gain entrance.  While some of this is reflected in the academic background of those seeking office, it is also reflected in the religious and social selections that people make.  If you doubt that consider that in the last Congress, 98% of the members reported affiliation with a formal church even though the numbers for the public was closer to 75%.  While there are always those that are able to carve a somewhat different path, the vast majority of members of congress have considerable areas of similarity.  One of the largest attributes that those seeking a political roll acquis to is that of party affiliation.  Party affiliation requires that you adhere to a minimum set of common beliefs with the party or share a common world view.  The ticket to entrance is that your views are consistent with those already there.

All or this leads to representative bodies that have been presorted into groups of likeminded individuals with limited variation on their backgrounds or expertise.  This lack of diverse knowledge and experiences creates a group that is ripe to be manipulated and that is what we have today.