The way the government structure is organized has been changing ever since humans began to live in a polis. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that humans were political animals, thus the reason for organizing ourselves into a political state. However the way governments are organized, and which political system works best has been the centrepiece for many violent conflicts in the past, and will continue to challenge the world into the future. Yet a new form of organization is taking place in the 21st century and has been given the term “globalization.” With the onset of globalization many of those in government have had to change their governing style in order to keep up with the pace of a shifting world that is becoming more integrated. However the foundations of the modern western societies can be traced back to ancient Greece, arguably the first democratic society. Since the western world prides itself as being a democracy, would it not still value the teachings of great philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle? The answer is ambiguous, and modern society may be able to relate better with Aristotle than with Plato. This is because both philosophers differed in many areas when they described their ideas of an efficient state. Aristotle’s writings in his work Politics give more freedom to the polis and the structure of government is not as ridged as what Plato believed. Furthermore Aristotle was a firm believer in the laws of nature since everything in nature has a purpose. In contrast, Plato believed in a ridged class structure to form the organization of the state, among other things. Differences in opinion of the two philosophers include the family household, organization of the state, who is a citizen, and how ...
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...because they know their rights are protects by a system of laws.
All in all, modern western democracies would most identify with Aristotle’s concept of government. This is because of his ideals for family, how he organizes the state, and his terms for justice. As stated numerous times, modern western democracies pride themselves for upholding the values of freedom. Aristotle’s writings in Politics allow for more freedom for individuals than Plato’s class based system of government. It seems as though the world has already progressed though Plato’s principles for his ideal state when Europe was divided into a system of aristocracies, with the few ruling the many. Society and governments have progressed in such a way that they represent the majority, yet most people are still able to live a full and meaningful life, to develop themselves to their highest standards.
One important contribution of Ancient Greek to the Western Culture is Democracy. The very term itself is of Greek derivation, meaning "People’s Rule". Unlike modern states which call themselves "Democratic". For example, Pericles Funeral Oration gave the greatest contribution to our today’s society. In .(Doc. 2) Pericles stated "Our plan of government favors the many instead of the few". Because of this quote it has contributed the society tremendously due to the fact that the democratic society is a direct democracy. Yet in a way, people have the power to overthrow other powerful representatives; Pericles Funeral Oration, gave us the idea of keeping the civilization as a democracy rather than Oligarchy, Monarchy, and many more. Moreover, Solon an Athenian tyrant discussed his thought about democracy. In .(doc. 4) Solon stated, "I drew up laws for bad and good alike, and set straight justice over each". Solon reveals that he has created laws for the good of others. He wanted every individual having the ...
The Ancient Greeks were the first to put the power of a nation in the hands of the average citizen, they created the idea of the democratic government, practiced as a direct democracy. Voting, political assembly, and official citizenship are all concepts that can be traced back to Classical Grecian ideas .The Romans developed the concept of the representative democracy .This was best exemplified by the Roman Senate. The upper house of the US Congress is the Senate in ode to this ancient ideal. Although American Democracy is defined as a Representative Democracy, that is to say citizens elect those who make decisions, they owe a great deal to Greek ideas and concepts.
A longstanding debate in human history is what to do with power and what is the best way to rule. Who should have power, how should one rule, and what its purpose should government serve have always been questions at the fore in civilization, and more than once have sparked controversy and conflict. The essential elements of rule have placed the human need for order and structure against the human desire for freedom, and compromising between the two has never been easy. It is a question that is still considered and argued to this day. However, the argument has not rested solely with military powers or politicians, but philosophers as well. Two prominent voices in this debate are Plato and Machiavelli, both of whom had very different ideas of government's role in the lives of its people. For Plato, the essential service of government is to allow its citizens to live in their proper places and to do the things that they are best at. In short, Plato's government reinforces the need for order while giving the illusion of freedom. On the other hand, Machiavelli proposes that government's primary concern is to remain intact, thereby preserving stability for the people who live under it. The feature that both philosophers share is that they attempt to compromise between stability and freedom, and in the process admit that neither can be totally had.
The Romans called their political system not democracy but republic. Republic is something that belongs to the people. In Rome the right to take part in the governing belonged only to the men and those who had the statute of being citizens. The differences of republic and democracy are because of the origin of the two terms Greek and Latin language. The ancient Greeks discarded the tyranny as well as the disorder. Plato as well as Aristotle stabilized the complete democracy which was not based on the laws, with the power of the crowd and considered it as a form of ruling based on the jealousy and sweet talk of demagogues. Both of them considered the democracy to be wrong kind of state governing. Plato considers the democracy as nice and various public orders but without the necessary governing. The main good of democracy is freedom.
Plato states that as the just city (i.e. an aristocratic society) develops, it will inadvertently fall into depravity, because despite the excellent constitutions of its wise leaders, they are still fallible human beings. He outlines four distinct forms of government—of which he considers to be depraved—that the just city will transform into, with each one being worse than its predecessors. The four systems, which are ordered by their appearances in the line of succession, are: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and finally tyranny. The focus of this essay will be on Plato’s criticisms of democracy. Since democracy is recognized and practiced by most of modern western societies, it is especially relevant and important to examine whether this model
In The Republic by Plato, Plato constructed an ideal city where Philosophers would rule. Governed by an aristocratic form of government, it took away some of the most basic rights a normal citizen should deserve, freedom of choice, worship, and assembly were distressed. Though the idea of philosopher kings is good on paper, fundamental flaws of the human kind even described by Plato himself prevent it from being truly successful. The idea of an ideal democratic government like what our founding fathers had envisioned is the most successful and best political form which will ensure individual freedom and keep power struggle to a minimum.
Plato and Aristotle were both very influential men of there time bringing vast knowledge to the world. I honestly believe that Democracy does a lot of good but it definitely has some common side effects. Out of all of Plato's significant ideas, his best was the idea of democracy opening political decisions to the majority who cannot think on behalf of the community. Aristotle on the other hand is very optimistic when it comes to democracy so it becomes a rather interesting compare and contrast between these to men.
Socrates and I grew up alongside the Athenian democracy, and experienced her vicissitudes in the past seventy years. We have both heard and experienced cycle of five types of governments that Socrates had mentioned. (Plato, Republic 8.547e) Our democracy was established hundreds years ago under Cleisthenes and turned to tyranny under Isagoras. In our childhood, Athens was a timarchy, and then Pericles ruled Athens with the
However, Plato now describes the Democracy that has been implemented by the lower classes with the aim of leading onto the democratic character. With new freedom and liberty, the average individual will arran...
The readings and information in our textbook in regards to Plato and the Greek government were very similar to today’s ideas of government with the examples of citizens choosing other citizens to represent them, which is the same as voting in Governors or Councilmen/Councilwomen. The fact that there were term limits held by some is similar to the way we do things in our government.
Plato defines Athens as a democratic society that “treats all men as equal, whether they are equal or not.” Therefore, believes that there are those that are born to rule and others that are born to be ruled. Plato presents the argument that democracy does not achieve the greatest good, giving four main objections to democracy. Firstly, he identifies that most of us are ruled by passions, pleasure, sentiment and impulse. Hence, th...
The democratic system developed by the Ancient Greeks influenced the western democratic systems seen today, mainly in Europe and North America. The Ancient Greeks introduced our concepts of citizens' rights, rule by the people, and right to fair trial.
During the age of Pericles, the ideal form of government was believed to be a government formed by all of the citizens regardless of wealth or social standing. This was known as democracy, literally meaning “ government of the people” [Document 3.] This government favored the many instead of the few. Athens was a direct democracy, meaning every citizen participated in debates. Western civilization used this philosophy of government by many, and created an indirect democracy where citizens elect officials to make and enforce laws.
Plato’s thoughts about power and reason are much different than Aristotle. Plato looked at the meaning of justice and different types of governments. Plato looked into four different types of governments
Societies began to establish thousands of years ago, and this was due to the fact that we as humans are inclined to live in societies. “State comes into existence because no individual is self-sufficient” (Cohen). Humans are in need to live in societies but the question, that all of humanity has had since the beginning of the establishment of society is what type of government should be applied. Philosophers from all time have argued for or against various theories, and many have come up with their own theories. An answer may be found by looking at which theories are more plausible and with less problems. A good theory must be measured by a scale, and the scale that has been chosen is based off of three important characteristics. The characteristics that promote the common good of the people and state, stability and justice. An ideal political system has to have these three essential characteristics,