blog




  • Essay / The injustice and misery of the dictator in the Republic

    In book VIII of Plato's Republic, Socrates details the degenerative process of regime change, which passes from royalty to timocracy, to oligarchy, to democracy and tyranny. Each regime has its analogue in the soul of man, which is structured in the same way as the different classes of the regime. Tyrannical rule and the tyrant's soul are particularly troubling given their democratic origins and the inevitability with which Socrates describes their development. Through the dialogue with his interlocutors, Socrates will highlight the injustice and misery of the tyrant, affirming that justice and happiness can only be achieved by the subordination of the appetitive and spirited parts of the soul to the rational part of the soul. Likewise, justice and happiness in a political system can only be achieved when those classes of citizens most guided by their rational faculties rule over citizens who are motivated by the lower functions of desire and passion of the soul . In doing so, Socrates successfully supports his earlier assertion in Book V that no regime can establish justice unless “political power and philosophy coincide” (473d). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essaySocrates asserts that tyranny is established “from no other regime than democracy… slavery the greatest and wildest resulting from extreme freedom” (564a). The tyrant leads a revolution in the democratic regime, inciting “faction against those who possess wealth” and claiming to act in the best interests of the people (566a). He asks the citizens for bodyguards to protect him from his enemies and they provide him with these drones, because he is now considered the defender of the people. The tyrant kills all virtuous and capable citizens lest they supplant him, then he enslaves everyone else so that he can rob them to support the lavish and extravagant lifestyle his passions demand. He also maintains a constant state of war in order to distract his citizens from his unjust actions in the city. It is through this process that “too much freedom seems to be transformed into nothing other than too much slavery, both for private man and for the city” (564a). Socrates details the analogue of tyrannical rule, found in the soul of the tyrant, and warns his interlocutors against the danger which accompanies the reign of desire in the soul. When the desire for absolute freedom leads the son of the democratic leader to develop the emotion of love, a powerful drone is implanted in his soul. Finally, “the leader of the soul mistakes madness for his armed guards and is driven to frenzy” (573a). It is for this reason that “love has always been called a tyrant” (573b) because it corrupts the mind and turns it against the rational part of the soul. Once the buzzing, appetitive part of the soul allies itself with the spiritual part, rationality is usurped and love reigns as tyrant. The life of a tyrant, however, is most miserable. Socrates states that tyrants “live their entire lives without ever being friends with anyone, always masters of some or slaves of others. Tyrannical nature never tastes freedom or true friendship” (576a) because the tyrant must act as the slave of the masses in order to preserve public support and as the master of any powerful citizen who would dare to oppose his power. After Socrates' initial frightening picture of the tyrannical life, Adeimantus and Glaucon are ready to agree that no life could be more miserable. However, Socrates insists further and provides his interlocutors with a second, 1991[1968].