Plato’s Theory of Governance
In Plato’s approach to philosophy, everything is prone to decay, and, therefore, forms of government also decay. Even the best form of government will inevitably deteriorate into a less perfect form. Nevertheless, Plato proposes four stages of governance to show how one stage transforms into another as a result of deterioration. The first form, aristocracy, is considered the best form, characterized by high levels of education, excellence, and focus on equality (Kraut, 2017). It flows into timocracy, which entails a ruler being more engaged in warfare, later deteriorating in an oligarchy, a government in which the poor are a majority, and the rich are the minority. Finally, Plato suggests that democracy is the lowest form of government in which the poor majority comes together to oppose the wealthy minority.
Aristotle’s Theory of Governance
Aristotle states that government must be concentrated in the hands of one individual, several, or many, with the primary objective focusing on reaching the general good. Government by one person is referred to as monarchy (or tyranny); government by the minority is aristocracy while the popular government is polity. Some communities are the best fit for the monarchy, although the risk of a miscarriage of justice is great (Shields, 2020). Thus, Aristotle preferred some kind of constitutional democracy, a state in which rich and poor respect the rights of one another, choosing the best-fit citizens to rule.
Current Gun Issues
The current restrictions on the process of purchasing a gun remain among the most divisive problems in the US, even though the framework for possessing firearms is laid in the Second Amendment to the Constitution (Legal Information Institute, n.d.). Applying both Plato’s and Aristotle’s theories of governance, it becomes clear that the issues pertaining to gun ownership and control can be linked to the ways in which governments rule over their populations. It is far more likely that under a democratic rule, even though Plato opposed it, it will allow for the controlled possession of guns and their use in instances when they are essential to human safety. However, in a more authoritarian form of government, those in power fear the widespread and legal possession of guns by the population due to the possibility of an uprising, especially considering Plato’s deterioration of stages of governance.
Relevance to Governance Thought Throughout History
Both Plato’s and Aristotle’s philosophies concerning governmental affairs remain relevant in modern times. The history of Western civilization’s development has represented the hypothetical structure between the two ways of approaching governance, which can be simplified to the internal ‘tensions’ between Plato and Aristotle. Finding a balance between the material and logical understanding of governance and a rather creative approach is what makes the struggle relevant. Despite the difference in the way that the philosophers perceived democracy, the majority of developed countries have adhered to the ideology over time. For Plato, such an evolution represents deterioration, while for Aristotle, it is the most logical establishment of governance that aligns with the principles of society (Lane, 2018). Throughout history, the monarchy has shown to be highly ineffective when serving the interests of many, while aristocracy is highly prone to deteriorating into oligarchy. Therefore, the evolution of thought on governance will inevitably return to Plato and Aristotle as a means to trace the main developments and understand why they occur in the first place.
References
Kraut, R. (2017). Plato. Web.
Lane, M. (2018). Ancient political philosophy. Web.
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Bearing arms: Second Amendment. Web.
Shields, C. (2020). Aristotle. Web.