Socrates believed direct democracy led to demagoguery by encouraging politicians to give special favors to those required to win elections. An opinion that contributed to his execution.
The Dangers of Direct Democracy
A parable attributed to Socrates about two political candidates: the Candy Store Owner and the Doctor. The Candy Store Owner berates the Doctor because the practice of medicine involves many unpleasant medicines and surgical procedures to improve the life of the patient, but they (the Candy Store Owner) can provide the good life -- candy and sweets -- without the pain and rigor.
The Demagogue, i.e., the Candy Store Owner, is seeking to line their own pockets. They are appealing to the human pleasure principle -- generally, claims a more aesthetically pleasing experience is better than facing and correcting an unpleasant or dangerous situation.
Socrates recognized the appeal to the pleasure principle wins elections because the general voting populace: (i) find it difficult to select unselfish positions that benefit the entire community; (ii) go for 'win-lose' propositions based on their desires and prejudices; and, (iii) can rationalize their selections based on "majority rules" in a democracy.
Socrates believed to avoid demagoguery, elected leadership must be literate and able to construct solutions to social issues that protect the minorities from the majority. This sort of leadership could only be elected by a literate and unbiased populace that holds elected leaders to account for their actions and votes.
Demagoguery is enabled by dumbing down, repressing, and confusing the masses.
It's not ironic that Socrates' demise came with the verdict of 500 people off the street. They were assembled to consider trumped up charges levied by city demagogues who disliked his interference with their political agendas -- he was teaching the youth critical thinking skills.
Epilogue
Witnessing the current state of our political environment -- it's difficult to argue Socrates was wrong about his misgivings.
The general citizens are not educated on critical thinking, have a low academic literacy rate, and don't appreciate that benevolent governance provides a higher quality of life for all.
Rather, the lower classes are controlled by government giveaways, making it difficult for them to live without government assistance. The system is totally corrupted by this demagoguery.
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