Plato, in his “Republic,” advanced a theory that rightfully defined the evolution of government. All governments, said Plato, go through five stages or regimes of development. Those five stages are kingship or aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny.
For those who don’t recognize these archetypes, following is an explanation.
Kingship or aristocracy: rule by nobility
Timocracy: a form of government in which possession of property is required in order to hold office
Oligarchy: a small group of people having control of a country
Democracy: government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives
Tyranny: a cruel and oppressive government or rule
Most of us would agree that we are in the final stage of Plato’s theory: the evolution of government defines “tyranny” as the last stage.
All republics fail!
The Roman Empire, possibly one of the longest-lasting Republics, lasted 520 years before being overrun with corruption and war.
America is now 239 years old and is failing rapidly. At our current rate, America will not celebrate its 300th birthday as a democracy; in fact, at the rate at which our decline is accelerating, it is unlikely to see its 250-year anniversary. We are, as Plato suggested, in the final stage of the evolution of government.
Laws are passed without our consent and foreign to our Constitution, e.g. Obama has the power to arrest and hold indefinitely without presentment of charges, without allowing counsel, and without the right of the writ of habeas corpus or bail, in violation our forth, fifth, and sixth Amendments. And Congress gave him that power.
We have a secret court wherein secret rules are made: individuals are screened with no ability to defend themselves, again in violation our forth, fifth, and sixth Amendments. And Congress gave Obama that power.
Our secret courts issue secret orders and abridge our right to confront our accuser or indeed any adversary. We can now be held without charges at the pleasure of the president. We are now as free as government will allow us to be.
We are under inexorable and unlawful surveillance from intrusive government intelligence agencies, again in violation our forth, fifth, and sixth Amendments. And Congress gave the NSA that power.
Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden bring these illegal crimes against us to our attention, and they are branded as traitors. Why?
The reason is because crimes by our elected officials must stay hidden.
Our Supreme Court no longer interprets law; it now writes our laws.
The IRS punishes thinking, which is not consistent with our Constitution. Our “king” denies us free thought and speech in the form of social interaction and association.
Democracy is indeed dying, and if there is any life still left, it is taking a shallow breath.
That we have outgrown our two-party systems and the ambivalence of the left-right tug that has divided America along political landscapes, which has set America toward the path of a second struggle to save the union, is not subject to debate.
We are being castigated and laughed at by the world for our lack of leadership. We have allowed our political parties to be taken over by fascists on the right and communists on the left who have not only infiltrated both parties but have no allegiance to our law, the Constitution they swore to uphold and defend, by the use of hollow words.
We have legislators who sell their votes for money! If we the public did the same, we would be imprisoned.
We vote for choices that are not ours in meaningless elections that offer no change from the status quo.
The time has come when to vote at all is pointless. The faces change, but the voice and the lyrics remain the same.
We have unknowingly elected fools or traitors who have sold America to the highest bidder, and with them our jobs, while our factories lay idle.
America is once again on the edge, a thin line from where a revolution is so eminent that the five stages Plato describes will begin all over at its end.
They say for every man there is a season, and for some that season is a time for planting the seeds of knowledge and thought, a time to look back rather then forward, at history and why other great nations have also failed.
In the end, a democracy will always fail, as Plato identified, because of a natural transition through stages of political corruption. We are in the midst of experiencing that final stage at this time.
Moreover, even if the best regime were ever to come about, Plato makes it clear that all things, even the best regime, must inevitably degenerate. This tempts one to speculate that Plato’s “Republic” is really about justice, as are all popular revolutions.
Given this reality, we must acknowledge that we are on the verge of a rebellion; attitudes and thought patterns are being voiced. The level of distress and distrust, which we as a nation have not before in our history encountered, has become a daily observation.
A revolution, if we are to survive with our civil liberties intact and to regain our political focus, appears imminent.
I am not advocating a revolution; I am simply acknowledging its impending likelihood.
Neither party, Republican nor Democratic, has embraced the constitutional limits of political power. Thus we are faced with corruption at a level that is both unprecedented and unsustainable.
No single branch of government has been confined to its authorized precept nor bound within the limits of its authority.
That is the very definition of tyranny!
Each transgresses the other: Congress usurps its power as does the executive branch, while the Supreme Court performs the functions of Congress and rewrites our laws.
The virtue as well as the credibility of our Supreme Court itself have been compromised.
This court now allows direct taxes on our people, (Obamacare’s individual mandate) in violation of the restriction found in article 1, section 9, clause 4 of the Constitution, which restricts Congress from laying any direct taxes except against the state.
What crimes against us will this governing body contemplate next? And what will we as a freedom-loving people consider a solution?
I am very familiar with this author’s work (Jack Ferm), and he is, again, spot on! I, along with several other readers, would more than welcome Jack Ferm, to cover in more detail, MORE that is, and has been, going on within our US government. We are, and have been, in a full blown out-of-control, Oligarchy … and dangerously much more! I feel Mr. Ferm, at least in this one small article, is just skimming the service here, as so much more needs to be written to inform your readers, just how full of contempt our government has become, i.e., both the Dems and Reps have become two heads of the same snake! Unfortunately TRUE! Mr. Ferm educates on Fascism, a merger of state and corporate power, yet I feel, in his next highly anticipated article, I invite him to elaborate on ALEC, a merger of state and corporate power, along with OP-KOCH, being a merger of state and corporate power. The special interest corporations (Super-Pacs) are playing and paying grotesquely amounts of money to control our government and our citizens. One need look no further than Monsanto, where we are the ONLY civilized country where we are NOT ALLOWED to know what is in our food, products, etc., IN SPITE of many petitions for our right to know. Donald Rumsfeld, Hillary Rodman Clinton, along with MANY POLITICIANS, hold selective ‘titles’ to this one company. There is so very much corruption that people need to be educated further about, and I can only hope Mr. Ferm will more than elaborate on these issues in his future writings. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and a big Thank You for having author, Jack Ferm, as a contributor to your fine newspaper! With Sincere Appreciation, Ms. Andrea Cavaleir
My favorite chapter from Plato’s Republic is the allegory of the cave. Jack you are in the cave. The ancient Greeks were not aware of the existence of Pluto. Thus PLUTOCRACY was not part of their vocabulary. The Supreme court ruling in regards to “Citizens United” is the greatest tragedy and threat to our democratic process we have encountered. Democracy has to be defended. When the Supreme Court sells out the American people, the government is broken with no safety net. Your future projections become a possible trajectory if nothing is done about it…. BUT NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. Regardless of the fact the media can no longer be trusted, Americans are not blind… If we can fix our political process and overturn Citizens United we can get this country back on track. LAWYERS ARE THE PROBLEM… Whether it is supreme court justices or 75% of the elected political body. Too many laws have mired us… Corporate lawyers have no conscience and are the foot soldiers of the plutocrats… Well… we can fix it. The sky is not falling… This is not the first crisis America has had to face over the years…