It is sometimes said that originality is overrated. Many who claim to be
original are actually borrow ideas from someone else or, at best, to
develop what was "in the air" for a while. Or, more often than not,
the "original" thinkers developing ideas for places and they are not fully
aware seem strangely surprised when they arrive at a logical conclusion,
but disturbing.
Joseph de Maistre, contemporary critique of the French Revolution, said
that we were blinded by a "coarse fallacy": only being able to see the
effects or to achieve the causes with difficulty, we judge these men norms
of ancient times " who saw effects in their causes. "Indeed, when we read
the works of ancient thinkers, whether politicians or philosophers, we can
not believe long in ancient times-is-the-man narrative childhood that seem
to have appeared between the eighteenth and ten- ninth century and is
consistent with the progressive vision, but should be considered, to put it
politely, very doubtful.
Plato's Republic, a block of ten pounds of dense text, is distinguished as
one of the classic works that are so rich that they never seem to lose
their relevance. Reading it again, I was surprised to find a likeness of
the mentality much how to get rich host family books, modern individualism
and what seems unbearably as the struggle of the Marxist class. Does
Plato "seeing the effects in their causes"? Whatever the answer, he
delineated the process moderns do not learn.
How even a "perfect city" is transformed into an oligarchy
The bulk of the Republic deals with the "perfect constitution" or "ideal
city". In pre-Hellenic Greek, Plato believed in terms of free cities rather
than countries, kingdom or empire, and his view of perfection remains local
scale & # 8212, which, as we shall see, one thing changes barely. The
perfect city has a caste order following producers warrior-priests
tripartite division and is headed by philosopher kings, which are also
capable of contemplating the eternal truths and control a wide range of
knowledge, including astrology.
After Plato crossed the features of his ideal order, he asks his spokesman
Socrates or how the city policy can be disintegrating. "Obviously," he
said, "all the political changes come from divisions govern real power; a
government that is united, however small, can not be moved. "(545D)
Corruption, and may change in general, can only result of discord between
two factions. This occurs because of a mix between "races" of different
castes & # 8212; say the "golden race 'philosophers with" bronze
race "merchants & # 8212; which will create confusion, poor judgment, and.
These antagonisms will slip and take place gradually.
Aristocracy, the government of the best in the etymological sense, and
organization of legitimate initially castes degenerates into timocracy. The
products of a mixture timocrats are men who seek the honors, recognition,
and also wealth. They appreciate art and respect other free men, but are
too severe against slaves and lower castes. Near aristocrats always
virtuous and capable of carrying many difficulties, timocrats "lack of
clarity" (549b). After they show great courage and military meaning in
their youth, they turn into wealth hoarders with age. Dominated by their
desires, creating envy and resentment because of their private hoarding,
end up forgetting timocrats virtue and promotion of enemies.
Timocracy, this substitute of the aristocracy and the caste system in
balance, can triumph against all external enemies with the virile
tendencies of his upper class. He still incapable of facing the enemy
within. A man who takes the lead a dangerous expedition, even if he wins,
could be hauled off to trial, reprimanded by cowardly sycophants and
envious that will benefit from the slightest flaw to attack (553a-b). The
city begins to punish virtue and reward his soft belly. When sycophants
victory, back able and virtuous away, like the potential wealth creators
under a state that punishes success.
Plato also mentions the role of women fanning the flames of the rivalry. A
virtuous man fulfills his vocation, benefiting quietly throughout the city,
far from noisy political show. This man has a wife and a son, the woman,
always want a "better" or higher status companion & # 8212; Plato knew
hypergamy & # 8212; continues to complain that her husband is not part of
the group management or the upper wealth bracket.
Moreover, when she sees her husband not very keen money, and instead of
fighting and railings in the courts of law or assembly, taking everything
slowly comes to him; and when she observes that his thoughts always center
itself ... she gets angry and tells her son that his father is only half a
man and far too accommodating: add all other complaints about his own abuse
which women are so fond repeat. Yes, said Adeimantus, they give us a lot of
them, and if their complaints are like themselves. (549d-e)
Interestingly, stimulation of rivalry by women is part of a larger trend.
People admire those who succeed in a ruthless political competition,
especially when they are mixed with other legitimate business, while those
who mind their own are despised (550a). Increasingly in such circumstances,
most stimulated by these lines that contemplating the higher levels of
being the origin of aristocracy knew, young people busy running after
honors or money & # 8212; and here comes the hypocrisy, betrayal,
Machiavellianism and a loss of identity between the individual and the city.
When timocrats see how they are treated when they show courageous actions
and collective spirit, they fall back on their monopolization of private
wealth.
The accumulation of gold in the treasury special is the ruin of timocracy;
they invent ways of illegal expenditures; so do they, or their women care
about the law? And then see another rich grow, try to compete with him, and
so the great mass of citizens become lovers of money. (550d-e)
This is much like the famous Frédéric Bastiat "Everyone wants to live the
state and the state lives of everyone. "Classical liberals want to believe
that the problem comes from the state, but in truth, it is just a way;
deepest root comes from the will to live other, either by wear, operation,
rent seeking or public funding.
Plato's remarks on oligarchs seem to be taken up by works like Rich dad,
poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It advises people who want to be rich to be
frugal, aware of the short-term passions, prejudices and desires so that
they are not dominated by them and industrious & # 8212; all this so that
they can have other people lose their money and buy property and rent
living off someone else.
And they get richer and richer, and they think it rich they think less of
virtue; when wealth and virtue are placed together in the scales of
balance, it always rises as the other falls. (550e)
Your money works, as Kiyosaki says, because other people are working, other
people pay for your capital, and you want to get rich, you better identify
opportunities for growth of capital and do some pay for it.
This predatory policy makes some richer and richer people and the rest
worse. "In an oligarchic city, almost everyone but upper class is a beggar"
(552). The so-called middle class today is made of these beggars who depend
on big business and the reputation SJW managed on their income.
Their interests, senior oligarchs are hypocrites who maintain an austere,
focused, living mostly mastered themselves, but encourage others,
especially the young, to spend foolishly and drowning in debt. "They want
to pay a heavy interest in that [if the default settings of creditors],
they can seize their property, be even richer and more appreciated. "(555C)
Ah, the sweet smell of foreclosures!
From oligarchy to democracy and tyranny ...
By monopolizing several active and turning the majority of their fellow
proles in the oligarchs create a major split. "This city will not be one,
but two: a city of poor and rich town, living in the same place and
constantly conspiring against each other" (551d). Young victims of
exploitation, who wake up to the sad reality of their own poverty, debt and
lack of perspective, the rich are irritated by & # 8212; especially those
who think they have a vocation, but can not realize it because the
possibilities faltered out.
The analogy between the fracture of two cities and the struggle of Marxist
class is too close to occur randomly, especially considering how classic
liberalism and the Industrial Revolution happened first in modern times. We
can see in passing that class opposition, far from being "the engine of
history" is the pathological product of an advanced stage in a process of
degeneration.
The Plato's time is not ripe for hard left classism. When modern Marxist
would have seen the "final stage of capitalism" to a classless society,
Plato provides for the establishment of democracy. This comes when the
oligarchs fail to suppress or control the majority of resentment relatives
wars, in particular, is a good situation for the exploited citizens who
notice how many cats and powerful they are against some fats that transpire
under the expensive armor.
Once they are able to unite the exploited will take away power and deprive
the oligarchs ban, and implement an elective democracy. Here Plato
implicitly refers to his own city, Athens, where many of the
responsibilities have not been voted, but randomly (557A).
Democracy Plato looks strangely modern, not to say libertarian, whether in
the right or left direction. "In the democratic city, people can do what
they want ... everyone can organize his own lifestyle at will. "(557B) To a
superficial observer, this city is the most dynamic and most cool: it looks
like an" embroidered dress "is full of people from different places, and
functions as a" bazaar "where political constitutions are sale. The people
there should accept responsibility, can avoid the draft, are free to pursue
pleasure in their private facilities, and so on. "Is it not a very
delightful way of life, at least as long as he can? "(558a)
Live an easy life, luxurious, democratic people lack a sense of discipline.
Those who should not be equal & # 8212; ie, immature students, slaves,
women & # 8212; beginning to be Religious, behave like big people
responsible, and shoving. Does that remind you apparently confusing
evolution of the 60s-70s "sexual empowerment" in the repressive mentality,
serious, constantly offended SJWs today?
At least timocracy and the oligarchy were conducted by able, disciplined,
competent men. Timocrats and oligarchs were very imperfect, but they
retained a certain grandeur in them. Democrats men, however, are mostly the
satisfaction of mediocre and conformist asylum loose. Democracy 60s-70s
becomes tyranny, the last form of government to be born, thanks to the
self-chosen isolation and cowardice of individuals. It is clear that Plato
would not be surprised that the apologists of the 60 "tolerant" "free
speech" leads to a rigid leftist dictatorship.
So what?
Today, the Republic of Plato taught each year in the philosophy class and
political science. Even then, it seems that most students fail to glean
lessons from him, much less meditate. upper middle class students probably
prefer flattering material "study" or silent during which primarily reflect
the contemporary entertainment "culture" that potentially ego shattering
truths.
What Plato describes here is a slippery slope. Each step leads to the next,
as it fulfills the specific conditions and creates a particular context
where it can arise. If the oligarchs Plato could limit their own greed,
maybe the city would never degenerated into an anomic democracy
(redundant?). If Democrats do not waste their youth by allowing them to
turn into space in search of safety crybullies perhaps SJWness and tyranny
never appear.
Many lessons can be learned from the Republic. For now, I would say that
the first is that we must fight to become the aristocracy. Not only in the
superficial sense of high status, but to build strong character, virtues,
skills and good habits. Money matters, of course, but we should look for
the personal independence and the power to remove globalists & # 8212; not
as a way for silly pleasures that actually lead to addiction. own example
of self-control of the future of oligarch Platon retains great relevance.
As the author of another book, Republic, Jean Bodin said, "the real wealth
lies in men. "The rest is secondary.
Read more: What the Allegory of Plato's cave teaches men
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