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For example, it is not inevitable in a democracy that elections will be free and fair. The giving and receiving of bribes, the threat or use of violence, treatment, and impersonation are common ways that the electoral process can be corrupted, [ 36 ] meaning that democracy is not impenetrable from external problems and can be criticized for ...
It has become apparent to scholarship that this problem is seemingly impossible to clarify and thus perhaps now classified as unsolvable. [2] [3] Early proposed solutions to the matter still pose significant problems today. [4] Socrates was the main character in most of Plato's dialogues and was a genuine historical figure. It is widely ...
In the Republic, Plato's Socrates raises a number of criticisms of democracy.He claims that democracy is a danger due to excessive freedom. He also argues that, in a system in which everyone has a right to rule, all sorts of selfish people who care nothing for the people but are only motivated by their own personal desires are able to attain power.
The Trial of Socrates (399 BC) was held to determine the philosopher's guilt of two charges: asebeia against the pantheon of Athens, and corruption of the youth of the city-state; the accusers cited two impious acts by Socrates: "failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges" and "introducing new deities".
Socrates then goes on to describe the luxurious city, which he calls "a fevered state". [10] Acquiring and defending these luxuries requires a guardian class to wage wars. They then explore how to obtain guardians who will not become tyrants to the people they guard. Socrates proposes that they solve the problem with an education from their ...
Plato's democracy is not the modern notion of a mix of democracy and republicanism, but rather direct democracy by way of pure majority rule. In the metaphor, found at 488a–489d, Plato's Socrates compares the population at large to a strong but near-sighted ship's master.
Socrates is known for proclaiming his total ignorance; he used to say that the only thing he was aware of was his ignorance, seeking to imply that the realization of one's ignorance is the first step in philosophizing. Socrates exerted a strong influence on philosophers in later antiquity and has continued to do so in the modern era.
The image used by Socrates is applied in modern politics: [4] a gadfly is someone who persistently challenges people in positions of power, the status quo or a popular position. [6] For example, Morris Kline wrote, "There is a function for the gadfly who poses questions that many specialists would like to overlook. Polemics is healthy." [7]