¶ … Man and the Right Government
Plato's work has been much criticized as class bound, as many thought it reflected the moral and aesthetic standards of an elite in a civilization were slavery was a natural thing for many. Plato tries to depict the advantages of the rule of society by a high-minded minority.
After describing the first political utopia of the western world, Plato starts analyzing the types of government that existed at the time. The most preferable, according to him, is the kingly government, which is unfortunately, impracticable; oligarchies do not provide harmony in the state, because the society becomes divided as a consequence of the rule of the few and the pursuit of wealth Democracy has definite advantages for the poor, but a new class of people, the demagogues begin distributing "a peculiar kind of equality to equals and unequals impartially," The leaders practice high taxes for the rich and the division of the spoils leads to confusion and corruption, which in turn lead to tyranny. For the tyrant is preoccupied to eliminate potential rivals, he acts more as a "wolf" instead of a man and solves popular discontent by driving the people into war. Only then does the public see the true nature of its leader.
According to both Plato and Aristotle, soicety is more important than the individual. The diference is that Plato sees society as a three tier structure, while Aristotle envisages only two tiers.In the Statesman, Plato stresses the need for the rule of law, because unbridled power leads to corruption. In the Laws, he describes the internal organization of a city-state with some 5,000 citizens. The main institution is the secret Nocturnal Council, "the sheet anchor of the state," which acts as a guardian. The young are to be subjected to a rigid and austere education. However, Plato has the merit of affirming that the state's main objective is to promote a good life, social harmony and the rule of law, which Plato admits that, when philosopher-kings are absent, is quite essential for the realization of the state's purpose.
Like Plato, Aristotle argues that the aim of the city-state is to promote the good life, which can only be achieved, as the great philosopher insists, only under the rule of law. Such rule is certainly is preferable to that of a single man; individuals should be invested with the public function of law guardians or ministers of the laws.
Even the rule of the best men is faulty, so the rule of law is preferable because "he who bids law rule may be deemed to bid God and reason alone rule, but he who bids men rule adds the element of the beast; for desire is a wild beast, and passion perverts the minds of rulers, even if they are the best of men." The distinction between lawful government and tyranny remained unchanged during the Middle Ages and became the theoretical foundation of modern constitutional government, as it was based on the subjection of the ruler to law.
St. Augustine's City of God introduces a new division between church and state and talks about the conflict between "matter" and "spirit" which resulted from the Fall of man and the original sin. The power structure is dual - divided between the churh (the heveanly city) and the prince (the earthly city). St. Augustine did not follow Plato and Aristotle in assuming that a harmonious and self-sufficient good life could be achieved if a city-state was properly organized. Augustinian political philosophy is projected into a cosmic drama, which follows a path to a predestinate end. Predestination makes the normal interests and amenities of life insignificant or even disgusting, so, according to St. Augustine, a government has to be founded only on the spiritual authority of the Christian Church. This idea went a long way, as it managed to dominate medieval thought, that process being helped by the fact that the church had became the repository of learning and of the remnants of the old civilized life, as the rest of the western world declined.
The Policraticus of John of Salisbury (c. 1159) is centered on the ideal ruler, who has the role of a "public power." John of Salisbury's admiration for the Roman emperors Augustus and Trajan meant that the Roman tradition of centralized authority, even if lacking Byzantine autocracy, was not abandoned in the predominantly feudal world. He states that the prince is someone who rules in accordance with law, unlike a tyrant who exerts irresponsible power, thus oppressing the people. The distinction deriving...
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" 2 One of the most important technological developments that occurred during the Industrial Revolution was the assembly line. Used in large factories so that more goods could be manufactured in a shorter period of time, assembly lines totally transformed the way people lived and worked. First, the assembly line created a plethora of new jobs, encouraging previously self-sufficient farmers to move to urban centers. Families were occasionally disrupted and old social
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Jean Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx are famous political philosophers, whose ideas in many ways had influenced the development of social formation in modern times, and what is most interesting is that ideas of both were realized in certain ways on practice. Jean Jacques Rousseau prophesied modern democratic institutions that laid into the fundamental of many modern nations; his ideas of "social contract" are the main principles of modern democracy,
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