The paradox of aristorcracy and democracy

Johnpveiga August 01, 2018 at 16:29 1525 views 3 comments

The great dilemma that political philosophers try to solve is the paradox of aristorcracy and democracy. The paradox is this, aristorcracy offers stability and is effective in implementing laws but aristorcracies offer no motivation for the ruler to help the people, his power does not depend on whether the peasent supports him or not so he does not care about them. Democracies counter this by giving the power to the peasent, now the ruler has to listen to the people because now his power is dependant on the support of the people but democracies fail on the excess of democracy, a peasent is not informed in politics, he does not know who the ideal ruler is, he does not have knowledge in politics so it is common for demorcracies to choose weak rulers which in return makes the state worse. In both cases, the people suffer either by a weak ruler or an ignorant ruler. This is the paradox, the dillema, what is your solution?

Comments (3)

Pattern-chaser August 01, 2018 at 16:45 #201900 0 likes

My solution is to deny the existence of a paradox. Every form of government has benefits and shortcomings. This applies to aristocracy and democracy just as it does to all the others. Aristocracy is ""government by those who are the best citizens". The first hurdle it must pass is that those elected to govern really are "the best" a society has to offer. The best in what sense? What attributes are 'the best' when it comes to government? And finally, do those referred to as aristocrats actually possess these attributes? And all this before we consider your statement that aristocracy "offers stability and is effective in implementing laws". :chin:

Democracy is similar, also depending on the quality of those chosen to govern. It seems you don't trust the wisdom of crowds to select the best candidates. Perhaps you're right. :chin:

I think your paradox is merely a problem: how do we select the best rulers, to govern us? It's a difficult problem to solve, as you seem to focus (quite rightly) on the faults or shortcomings of the individuals who are elected. Such issues obscure the actual form of government chosen (democracy, aristocracy, dictatorship...). The problem seems to be a human problem. I.e. a problem with humans, and the way they sometimes act in a less than ideal fashion. :wink:

Johnpveiga August 01, 2018 at 16:51 #201901 0 likes

Reply to Pattern-chaser the crowds arent wise and the aristocrats are bound to be corrupt with soo much power.

Pattern-chaser August 01, 2018 at 17:49 #201923 0 likes

Crowds are very wise, for some types of problem, and very stupid for others. The trick is to know which is which, I suspect. :wink:

Corrupt aristocrats? Hard to believe.