Ser Sleepy on Nostr: “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders ...
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
—John Adams
“Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.”
—Aristotle
paraphrase of the passage (Republic Vill, 562a-568a):
So how does a country fall under tyranny? It's clear that only a democratic country can evolve into tyranny, in the same way that a democracy evolves from a country ruled by oligarchs (the wealthy). In both cases, the old regime is destroyed by what it values most. In an oligarchy, wealth is what the regime values most, and it is greed and the neglect of other things to pursue wealth that ultimately destroys an oligarchy.
But in a democracy it is Liberty that the regime values most, so it is the insatiable desire for freedom and the neglect of other things for the sake of freedom that ultimately destroys a democracy and leads to tyranny.
Once a democracy reaches the point where liberty is loved above all else, there comes a time when, drunk with freedom, it will elect bad leaders, people who don't really know how to run a country. Now, unless those bad leaders keep catering to the people, the people will feel the sting of bad leadership and will eventually come to hate their leaders as evil oligarchs. The people will look at people who still support these leaders as willing slaves and good-for-nothings but those same people, in public and in private, will praise new leaders that behave like they the subjects do and makes them them the subjects feel like rulers.
When a country reach this point, freedom truly becomes the end all and be all of the state. The usual norms of society start to break down: children dominate their parents, parents act like children, shame no longer has any sway on people, students lose respect for their teachers, teachers care more about flattering their students than teaching them, and so on.
In such a state, the people become extremely sensitive to anything that feels like a threat to their freedom. Not only do social norms get turned upside but the laws themselves will be gutted or ignored, until little if anything is forbidden. Now, when the rule of law is just a formality and leaders are chosen by the people for being most like them, tyranny will emerge.
In general, excess usually sets up a reaction in the opposite direction, so it should not be surprising that excessive freedom will ultimately lead to extreme slavery. But then if democracy is to give way to tyranny, where will the tyrant come from?
Well, in terms of the work people do, let's divide society into three parts. First, there are people who lead idle and extravagant lives (if society were a hive, these would be the drones). In an ailing democracy, their most ambitious and vocal members will take center stage and dominate politics, with the public eating up everything they say and shutting down opposing speakers.
Second, there are those entrepreneurial folk who are most organized and find ways to make the most money.
Generally, these people become the wealthiest. In an ailing democracy, these rich entrepreneurs will feed the ambitions of the "drones", either deliberately or by the "drones" taking their wealth from them.
Then, lastly, there is the working class. In any democracy, they are the greatest in number and, when assembled, are the most powerful. When they feel they aren't getting their share, they will look to the "drones" to help them by taking from the wealthy and, in response, the rich will speak up to defend themselves.
Neither the working class nor the rich are fighting each other willingly: the people are acting out of ignorance, deceived by the "drones", and the rich are driven by the stings of the "drones" who are simply using them.
From here, there will be a mess of impeachments, judgements, and trials on both sides, until eventually the people find one man who they set up as their champion. Becoming a sort of leader of the people, or at least of his mob of followers, he will start by bringing someone to trial on false charges or some such dishonest crime, then will get a taste for blood and will keep escalating his crimes until he is either killed by his enemies or becomes a tyrant.
At this point, he will stir up civil war against the rich and against his enemies (who will become the enemies of the people). This tyrant will smile at everyone he meets and make all sorts of promises in public and private, pretending to be gracious and generous to all. Then when his enemies have been removed, he will seek out more enemies, stirring up a new war. In this way, the people will continue to feel the need of a leader and will be so busy (paying for the wars) that they will be less likely to plot against him.
Eventually, even those who helped the tyrant come to power will feel his sting. The ones alongside him in positions of power will think they can speak freely and, when they think they can criticize him, he will retaliate by getting rid of them and then will pre-emptively get rid of others who might try to do the same (anyone who is brave, knowledgeable, high-minded, or rich). As he purges his closest associates, he will need to replace and, contrary to good sense, will look for loyalty rather than competence. In the end, there will be a tyrant surrounded by admirers and hated by the people (who he no longer needs and who are too busy just living to plot against him).
That's how tyranny arises from a democracy.
—John Adams
“Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.”
—Aristotle
paraphrase of the passage (Republic Vill, 562a-568a):
So how does a country fall under tyranny? It's clear that only a democratic country can evolve into tyranny, in the same way that a democracy evolves from a country ruled by oligarchs (the wealthy). In both cases, the old regime is destroyed by what it values most. In an oligarchy, wealth is what the regime values most, and it is greed and the neglect of other things to pursue wealth that ultimately destroys an oligarchy.
But in a democracy it is Liberty that the regime values most, so it is the insatiable desire for freedom and the neglect of other things for the sake of freedom that ultimately destroys a democracy and leads to tyranny.
Once a democracy reaches the point where liberty is loved above all else, there comes a time when, drunk with freedom, it will elect bad leaders, people who don't really know how to run a country. Now, unless those bad leaders keep catering to the people, the people will feel the sting of bad leadership and will eventually come to hate their leaders as evil oligarchs. The people will look at people who still support these leaders as willing slaves and good-for-nothings but those same people, in public and in private, will praise new leaders that behave like they the subjects do and makes them them the subjects feel like rulers.
When a country reach this point, freedom truly becomes the end all and be all of the state. The usual norms of society start to break down: children dominate their parents, parents act like children, shame no longer has any sway on people, students lose respect for their teachers, teachers care more about flattering their students than teaching them, and so on.
In such a state, the people become extremely sensitive to anything that feels like a threat to their freedom. Not only do social norms get turned upside but the laws themselves will be gutted or ignored, until little if anything is forbidden. Now, when the rule of law is just a formality and leaders are chosen by the people for being most like them, tyranny will emerge.
In general, excess usually sets up a reaction in the opposite direction, so it should not be surprising that excessive freedom will ultimately lead to extreme slavery. But then if democracy is to give way to tyranny, where will the tyrant come from?
Well, in terms of the work people do, let's divide society into three parts. First, there are people who lead idle and extravagant lives (if society were a hive, these would be the drones). In an ailing democracy, their most ambitious and vocal members will take center stage and dominate politics, with the public eating up everything they say and shutting down opposing speakers.
Second, there are those entrepreneurial folk who are most organized and find ways to make the most money.
Generally, these people become the wealthiest. In an ailing democracy, these rich entrepreneurs will feed the ambitions of the "drones", either deliberately or by the "drones" taking their wealth from them.
Then, lastly, there is the working class. In any democracy, they are the greatest in number and, when assembled, are the most powerful. When they feel they aren't getting their share, they will look to the "drones" to help them by taking from the wealthy and, in response, the rich will speak up to defend themselves.
Neither the working class nor the rich are fighting each other willingly: the people are acting out of ignorance, deceived by the "drones", and the rich are driven by the stings of the "drones" who are simply using them.
From here, there will be a mess of impeachments, judgements, and trials on both sides, until eventually the people find one man who they set up as their champion. Becoming a sort of leader of the people, or at least of his mob of followers, he will start by bringing someone to trial on false charges or some such dishonest crime, then will get a taste for blood and will keep escalating his crimes until he is either killed by his enemies or becomes a tyrant.
At this point, he will stir up civil war against the rich and against his enemies (who will become the enemies of the people). This tyrant will smile at everyone he meets and make all sorts of promises in public and private, pretending to be gracious and generous to all. Then when his enemies have been removed, he will seek out more enemies, stirring up a new war. In this way, the people will continue to feel the need of a leader and will be so busy (paying for the wars) that they will be less likely to plot against him.
Eventually, even those who helped the tyrant come to power will feel his sting. The ones alongside him in positions of power will think they can speak freely and, when they think they can criticize him, he will retaliate by getting rid of them and then will pre-emptively get rid of others who might try to do the same (anyone who is brave, knowledgeable, high-minded, or rich). As he purges his closest associates, he will need to replace and, contrary to good sense, will look for loyalty rather than competence. In the end, there will be a tyrant surrounded by admirers and hated by the people (who he no longer needs and who are too busy just living to plot against him).
That's how tyranny arises from a democracy.