Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Book VIII and Oligarchy

Socrates suggests that the oligarchs would put laws into place that refuse political office to those who haven't sufficient wealth. In practices throughout history, governments have rarely found that necessary. There are a couple faults to the oligarchy I think we should consider. The first fault is that mere possession of wealth does not make one fit to rule the city. The second fault that I see is that there grows a breach between the citizenry and the oligarchs, until there are two cities that are effective. Along this divide between them there comes a war in which the next Constitution will come. The oligarchs will not be willing to divide labor so that farmers farm, and the merchants sell, and so on with the rest of the workers in the city. With these things being said I do not think that they will be able to fight very effectively because they will be afraid and will be loving money and wealth to much to use warriors. Their fear however of the mob or the group will leave them afraid to use them to fight their battles. Furthermore there will be poor people that are too poor to live anywhere in the city and to where will they be put or go? This is something that I think Socrates would never tolerate and have in a just city because the city would not be just if this were to happen. These poor people will have to become beggars in order to survive and with beggars comes thieves and other evil-doers in the oligarchy. I would like to think that people can obtain different wealth and still be equal but the more I read the more I think that it is impossible because people will be wanting more like their fellow man and will become greedy, which in return will make the city unjust.

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