Plato - The 2 Party System Today

It seems like we are forced to pick a candidate based on the flaws of the other rather than the good of the runner or simply decide based on a favoured "team" (republican/democrat). It's unfortunate that most people who run for/win the presidency seem to be bread into the role as they come from powerful families. I'm not saying this is a fact as it's merely a feeling, but often times it feel to me like we live in an oligarchy. It's explained by others better than I could ever hope to try...Plato is a good place to start.

Plato defines oligarchy as a system of government which distinguishes between the rich and the poor, making of the former its administrators. He gives a detailed account of the problems usually faced by the oligarchies of his days, which he considered as significantly more troubled than the former system, that of timocracy. The following are examples of such problems:

1.)The very distribution of political power in an oligarchy, which prevents wise and virtuous, but poor, men from influencing public life, whilst opening such possibility to the rich but incompetent ones;

2.)An oligarchy is invariably divided, in the one hand, between very rich men, its governors; and, on the other hand, very poor men. Those latter become poor due to bad policy on the part of the state, that doesn't prevent its members from enriching through exploitive contracts, or from becoming poor by wasting around their money and goods. Thus the poor ones become either beggars or thugs imbued with anger at their condition and a revolutionary spirit which threatens the internal stability of the state;

3.)An oligarchy will usually perform poorly in military campaigns because the rich men, who are few, will make a small army, and they are afraid to give weapons to the majority, to the poor, due to fears of a revolution. When a revolution does ensue, and the poor ones become victorious over the rich, the former expel the latter from the city, or kill them, and then they divide their properties between one another. That is how a democracy is established.

An oligarchy is originated by extending tendencies already evident in a timocracy. In contrast to platonic aristocrats, timocrats are allowed by their constitution to own property and thus to both accumulate and waste money. Because of the pleasures derived from it, money is valued over virtue, and the leaders of the state seek to alter the law to give away and accommodate to the materialistic lust of its citizens. Because of this new found appreciation for money, the governors work the constitution to restrict political power to the rich only. That is how a timocracy becomes an oligarchy.

The Plato defined oligarchy sound familiar.

Obama is creating class warfare as we speak.

Thanks for the post.

There is nothing new under the sun.

Maybe new ways to spread the same propaganda, but history repeats itself.
We teach it to the masses but the masses don't seem to learn from it.

Originally posted by hadriana
Thanks for the post.

There is nothing new under the sun.

Maybe new ways to spread the same propaganda, but history repeats itself.
We teach it to the masses but the masses don't seem to learn from it.

Very true, thank you for the reply. If you read Plato's five regimes, you can understand how it progresses with every step. It rings true to me.

Originally posted by xuenchen
The Plato defined oligarchy sound familiar.

Obama is creating class warfare as we speak.

I don't think it's just Obama...

I think both sides are one in the same and they just argue over "issues" that keep us occupied and full of hate so we don't realize the truth. It's been going on for a long time...I don't think all politicians are conscious of the slight of hand, more likely victims of the same thing.

The people are stronger without distraction...the people are stronger without divide. Split the people and they will abide.