Plato's Republic: Examining Forms of Government and Associated Persons

This assignment delves into Plato's analysis of four distinct forms of government—Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, and Tyranny—as presented in Books 8 and 9 of The Republic. For each form, the assignment outlines the key features of the governmental system and the character of the person associated with it, highlighting how each represents a decline from Plato's ideal society. Furthermore, the assignment addresses Plato's critique of democracy, focusing on his objections and underlying assumptions. It defends democracy based on the principles of freedom, peace, and unity, challenging Plato's view that it merely aims to enrich the poor. The analysis emphasizes that democracy fosters individual decision-making within legal boundaries, promotes peace by avoiding coercion, and encourages unity through cooperation and equality, ultimately arguing that these aspects are vital for a country's development.

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Part 1
The four forms of government described by Plato
1. Timocracy
This is the type of government having a ruler who is involved in warfare. It is the
government of honor. The person-in-charge of the government is honored by the members of the
public (Ridgeway 265). This type of government is similar to aristocracy but the country is
involved more in warfare. The people in this kind of government are in constant chaos and
inequality within the state.
2. Oligarchy
This is the type of government in which few rich groups of people rule other poor citizens
in the country. This means that the poor are ruled by the rich people within the state. It is the
natural evolvement from the timocracy type of the government because it involved indulged war
for the accumulation of wealth (Lesses 147). The rich people in this form of government rule and
suppress the poor people for wealth. The poor people in this type of government are not armed
because the rich fear they will turn on and stand against them. People in this government live in
fear of crime due to high rates of poverty.
3. Democracy
According to Plato, the democratic government is the one in which each person needs to
be rich. It is formed after the poor people come together to form their government. It starts when

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the rich people loathe poor people and allow them to have a revolution (Klosko 341). The
revolutionists rise and either exile the rich people. Thereafter, they form a new government of
freedom and make sure that there is no compulsion for anything. For example, in this form of
government, one can choose not to join the army team despite being able. Everyone decides what
to do and nobody is forced to do anything.
4. Tyranny
This is the type of government in which power occurs only to granted ruler. The ruler
becomes so cruel and corrupt. He uses his power to grab wealth from others. They do so for their
interest without caring about other people’s welfare. The ruler is not interested in working over
the common goods but obtain wealth from other people by force or through corruption. The law
applied in this form of the government is that no one is exempt from the law even the ruler. The
law is so vital because it makes sure that the people in power are not corrupt.
Part 2
Based on the quote, Plato understands democracy as freedom from oppression. His
objective is to show how worse this government is because he thinks poor people aim to be rich.
He assumes that the main reason for this government is to make poor people rich and free from
oppression. He suggests the main objective of this government is freedom among the
revolutionists (Adam 270). He thinks this is one of the worst governments as everyone is striving
to become rich just like their previous oppressors. Plato says, “Poor people will soon form a
worst government called democracy”. In this statement, he thinks that the poor are just driven by
the rights of freedom and acquire wealth. If I were called to defend the democracy based on his
saying, I would defend it using the three aspects.

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The three aspects points includes; freedom, peace, and unity. Democracy is not about
becoming rich but it is about freedom. I think this is one of the best forms of government we can
have. It is so good when people have the right to make their own decisions. Democracy is about
freedom but within the limits of the law. I would challenge the suggestions of Plato by saying
that freedom is a vital factor for the development of the country which is obtained only through
democracy.
Democracy brings about peace in the country simply because no one is forced to do
something (Wilford 54). There is no pushing of people to do what they do not prefer. This results
in peace and harmony within the country. Lastly, democracy brings about the unit in the country.
When people have freedom, they can cooperate and make their decision based on their
preferences. This is so important to maintain unity within the state. In a democratic country,
people sit together and agree on what they should do. There is no special class of people to rule
others (Allen 47). All people are equal in a democratic country regardless of the level of
richness. The leaders are selected based on their capacity to lead others. One needs to sell his or
her manifestos and qualities to be elected as the ruler.

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Works cited
Adam, James, ed. The republic of Plato. University Press Book 8, 16 (2011): 270-284.
Allen, Reginald E. Plato's Euthyphro and the Earlier Theory of Forms (RLE: Plato): A Re-
Interpretation of the Republic book 9 (2017): 47-61.
Klosko, George. "The" Rule" of Reason in Plato's Psychology." History of philosophy
quarterly book 4 (2018): 341-356.
Lesses, Glenn. "Weakness, reason, and the divided soul in Plato's Republic." History of
Philosophy Quarterly 4.2 (2017): 147-161.
Ridgeway, William. "Psychology and Social Structure in the Republic of Plato." The classical
quarterly 6.4 (1912): 246-265.
Wilford, F. A. "The status of reason in Plato's psychology." Phronesis (2019): 54-58.