Plato emphasized the importance of law in his other works. In Krito, a dialogue between Socrates and his friend Krito, Krito offers Socrates a way to escape his imminent execution. Socrates refuses, stating that if a citizen chooses to live in a state, he « has entered into a tacit contract that he will make. [The laws] require it. In Plato`s Laws, his last book, he sums up his attitude towards the rule of law: the arbitrary power of an individual. Does not answer to anyone who governs. for his own benefit, not that of his subjects and therefore against their will. The rule of law is the principle that no one is exempt from the law, including those in positions of power. The rule of law can serve as a safeguard against tyranny, as just laws ensure that rulers do not become corrupt.
Plato considered tyranny « the fourth and worst disturbance of a state. » Tyrants do not have « precisely the capacity which is the instrument of judgment » – reason. Tyrannical man is a slave because the best part of him (reason) is enslaved, and likewise the tyrannical state is a slave because it also lacks reason and order. Rub impatiently at the slightest touch of authority and length. they cease to deal themselves with written or unwritten laws; You won`t have anyone on you. Leaders must be « servants of the laws » because « law is order and good law is good order. » Because in democracies where laws don`t come first, demagogues pop up. [T]he kind of democracy. [is] what tyranny is to other forms of monarchy. The spirit of both is the same, and they also wield despotic power over the best citizens. The decrees of the [demagogues] correspond to the edicts of the tyrant. Such a democracy is quite open to the objection that it is not a constitution at all; For where laws have no authority, there is no constitution.
The law must take precedence over everything. Aristotle believed that tyranny is « the exact opposite of a constitution. » He explained that the founders of our nation, like Plato and Aristotle, were worried about tyrannical government. Recognizing that tyranny can emanate from a single powerful ruler or from the « rule of the mob, » the founders enshrined mechanisms in the constitution to prevent tyranny and promote the rule of law. They divided governmental power into three equal branches of government: the executive branch (the president), the legislative branch (the Congress), and the judiciary (the Supreme Court). Each branch can control the other to prevent corruption or tyranny. Congress itself is divided between the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives, which is elected for two years, is more influenced by the passions of the people than the Senate, which is elected for a six-year term. The Constitution further limits the powers of the government by listing its powers: the government cannot exercise any powers beyond those enumerated. The first 10 constitutional amendments, the Bill of Rights, protect people`s freedoms from government interference. In creating the judiciary, the authors sentenced federal judges to life imprisonment, ensuring that judges would base their decisions on law rather than politics.
Notes: This quote was not found in Thomas Jefferson`s papers. It has been suggested that this is a paraphrase of Jefferson`s statement in the Declaration of Independence: Whenever any form of government destroys these goals, it is the right of the people to change or abolish them and install a new government. « , although such a paraphrase seems to remove some radical liberties with the original version. The quote is much more similar to Martin Luther King Jr.`s comment in his famous letter from Birmingham Prison: « One has not only a legal but also a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. [1] People always have a champion whom they place above themselves and cultivate to greatness. This, and no other, is the root from which a tyrant springs; When it first appears above ground, it is a protector. As he has a crowd entirely at his disposal, he is not prevented from shedding the blood of his loved ones.
He brings her to justice and murders her. At the same time, it emphasizes the abolition of debt and the division of land. After a while, he is expelled, but despite his enemies, he returns as a full-fledged tyrant. 2. The best laws, even if approved by every citizen of the state, will be of no use if young people are not educated by habit and education in the spirit of the constitution. Aristotle Plato emphasized moderation and warned that « the excessive increase of anything often provokes a reaction in the opposite direction, » so that « excess of freedom, whether in states or individuals, seems to pass only into an excess of slavery. » Governments that take into account the common interest are formed according to strict principles of justice. and are therefore true forms; But those who consider only the interests of rulers are all imperfect and perverse forms, because they are despotic. Both Plato and Aristotle lived in the democratic Greek city-state of Athens. In Athenian democracy, all male citizens were directly involved in the passing of laws and jury trial decisions. The annual elections decided who would hold important government positions. Citizens drew lots to see who would occupy the remaining positions.
Where laws have no authority, there is no constitution. The law must take precedence over everything. Aristotle emphasized that these laws must abide by just principles, so that « true forms of government will necessarily have just laws, and perverted forms of government will have unjust laws. » Nearly 2,400 years ago, the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle explored political philosophy. Aristotle concluded that « it is obvious that the form of government is the best in which every person, whoever he may be, can best act and live happily. » Aristotle taught for many years in Athens, which was under the control of Macedonia. Upon the death of Alexander the Great, however, the anti-Macedonians took control of Athens. Aristotle, who has been associated with Macedonia, has been accused of not accepting the gods of Athens, one of the same charges levelled against Socrates. Unlike Socrates, however, Aristotle was not judged. He fled to a house in the countryside and said, as the story goes, that he did not want Athens to « sin twice against philosophy » (his first sin was the execution of Socrates). Aristotle died in exile the following year. two States contained in one, each of which is hostile to the other.
[Plato] makes the guards [warriors] a mere garrison of occupation, while husbands and craftsmen and others are the true citizens. But if this is the case, the complaints, quarrels and all the evils that Socrates claims to exist in other states will also exist among them. He is actually saying that citizens with such a good education will not need many laws. But then he limits his education to the guards. 5. People always have a champion whom they place above them and cultivate to greatness. This, and no other, is the root from which a tyrant springs; When it first appears above ground, it is a protector. to have a crowd entirely at your disposal. Both Plato Plato and Aristotle developed important ideas about government and politics. Two of the many political issues these men wrote about were tyranny and the rule of law. Tyranny occurs when absolute power is granted to a ruler.
In a tyrannical government, the ruler becomes corrupt and uses his power to promote his own interests instead of working for the common good. The truth is that the state in which rulers are most reluctant to govern is always ruled by the best and quietest, and the state in which they are most zealous is the worst. Aristotle said that « the rule of law. is preferable to that of any individual. This is because individuals possess flaws and could tailor government to their own individual interests, whereas the rule of law is objective. [T]he best political community is made up of middle-class citizens, and that these states are likely to be well governed where the middle class is large and, if possible, stronger than the other two classes. Because the addition of the middle class reverses the balance and prevents one of the extremes from being dominant. Indicate what percentage of revenues comes from each federal revenue source. Next, calculate the amount in billions of dollars. Use the information in the table on the previous page to find your answers. 6. What is a republic? Is Plato`s ideal state a republic? Explain.
In addition to law, Aristotle believed that a large middle class would protect against the excesses of oligarchy and democracy: a city of the rich and a city of the poor, living together and always conspiring against each other. [The government] will not be able to wage war because it is necessary either to arm and deploy the crowd and fear it more than the enemy, or, if they do not use them, to find themselves on the battlefield. And to this must be added their reluctance to contribute money, because they are money lovers. 1. What is the rule of law? How can it help prevent tyranny? In this activity, students examine and discuss political quotes from Plato and Aristotle. Divide the class into small groups. Assign one of the offers to each group. Each group should: In fact, one of Aristotle`s true forms of government is a political entity, a combination of oligarchy and democracy. This type of state occurs when the middle class is strong. Plato was a pupil of Socrates. Socrates taught by asking questions about a topic and getting his students to think critically about it.
Today, this is called the Socratic method used by many professors in law schools. Philosopher kings will prefer to seek truth rather than rule, but a law will compel them to rule. They will obey the law and alternate as leaders. Unlike The Republic, Politics is not an ideal system of government.
