To vote or not to vote? Should that be a question?
The Absurdity of Democracy.
N.B. : This article requires the reader to keep an impartial and acceptant mind.
The notion of democracy being a spiffing idea is inculcated in almost all of us since birth. Be it school, society or mainstream media, democracy is painted in all shades of white and coated with all flavours sweet.
We are brought up being told that democracy, in it’s current form is the way governments must be and most of us seldom contemplate upon it.
But what if we did ?
Come 375 BCE, Athens, ancient Greece.
Plato, one of the most influential philosophers of the west has just published his book “The Republic, vol. Six” in which he includes dialogues from Socrates ( Socrates, was also an influential philosopher of the west during his time but seldom wrote down anything, he was a teacher to Plato who in turn was a teacher to Aristotle who in turn taught Alexander — The Great.)
This particular dialogue revolves around a conversation between Socrates and Adeimantus.
Socrates asks Adeimantus to imagine a scenario where a ship is in the midst of a storm and to determine the due course of the ship there are two viable options.
Optio A)
Ask each and every person on the ship, from sailor to cook to steward about their opinion and then decide the due course based on the popular choice.
Optio B)
Let the Naval Officers trained and skilled in the art of navigating the sea have a discussion among themselves and vote & then decide on the fate of the ship.
“What do you think would be best for everyone ?” Asked Socrates to Adeimantus.
“The latter, of course!” Said Adeimantus. Thus proving Socrates’ point.
Socrates, insisted upon the idea of Democracy of Intellect rather than the idea of Democracy by birth.
He stressed upon having a system wherein not everyone has the right to vote but the people who understand and yield interest in the issues of the state are allowed to do so.
Socrates, in no way was an elitist.
He wasn’t afraid of the idea of a common man having the right to vote but of the idea of Demagoguery ( — an appeal to people that plays on their emotions and prejudices rather than on their rational side.)
For comparison, Socrates offered the following scenario where an election is to be contested by two individuals.
One being a candy shop owner and the other a Doctor (an ancient one, not the present era).
In their pre-election speeches, one can expect the candy shop owner to claim that his sweets bring much joy and sweetness to the people of the town but the doctor practises weird methodologies and causes much pain and sufferings to the people of the town.
In his protest, the doctor may proceed to say that his interventions, though painful and sometimes brutal are something that are necessary for the well being of the public.
The doctor’s address is something that the trained and aware Naval Officers would understand but perhaps the sailors and the cook and the stewards won’t.
It shouldn’t be hard to believe that just like in the aforementioned scenario, in a system of Democracy by birth, many candy shop owners have been elected and very few doctors have made it.
Disclaimer: This article is a piece of opinion shouldering on the ideas and dialogues of Socrates and Plato. Please feel free to give your opinion for the article. I do not wish to entertain arguments about the discussed ideology.
