Plato — Unfit to Rule
Naked Emperors of Philosophy #2
This essay continues a series on The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper.
Popper defines historicism as an attitude (and bad habit) of many social scientists to view individuals as pawns in a game played by the chosen people (whether that be according to race, religion, or class). Their job is to predict future developments (or destiny) and to use this foresight to advise political choices. It is not difficult to see how this serves ambitions of those who aspire to become Great Leaders. Equally transparent is its inherent anti-democratic bias.
The book was begun during WWII after Hitler’s invasion of Popper’s native Austria and completed after the war. He had written a critique of historicism based on scientific methods, but felt compelled to write this analysis of its harmful effects “to show that we may become the makers of our fate when we have ceased to pose as its prophets.”
Plato, Hegel, and Marx all had enormous influence and share a strong commitment to historicism in one form or another. Plato enjoyed almost unquestioned adulation for over two thousand years and inspired the other two. The book was divided into two volumes — the first about Plato and the second about the modern era.
As explained in the essay that introduced this series, Popper’s writing needs no interpretation and my notes below should suffice to convey what Popper said.
The social engineer designs institutions to achieve specific goals — in contrast with historicists’ interest in source and role. For Plato, perfection is in distant past.
Methodological essentialism (revealing definitions of phenomena) is still prevalent in social sciences when natural sciences have progressed to methodological nominalism (describing behavior under various circumstances).
Plato avoids class war by granting absolute power to ruling class — those with vastly superior race, education, and values.
Tribal or closed societies practiced naive monism (uncritical acceptance of traditional norms). Open societies practice critical dualism, which distinguishes facts from normative decisions.
Plato used the term “natural” to promote values (i.e., propaganda). This is the source of historicism as a methodology.
State is perfect but man is not; hence state is primary. State is described as having a soul; this is an organic theory of the state. Decay of society is blamed on racial degeneration of ruling class.
Plato called his ideal state “just” when he knew it was nothing of the sort.
Those unwilling to sacrifice for the state are selfish. Plato attacked individualism because it was replacing tribalism with democracy.
(Popper asks) What do we demand from a state? Protection is necessary, but some want to make it an object of worship and a source of moral control.
Plato asks who should rule (theory of unchecked sovereignty), but our first question should be how to design an institution that would prevent rulers from doing too much damage.
Principle of democracy is to avoid tyranny. By contrast, Plato would prioritize questions of personnel.
Socrates (Plato’s teacher) taught intellectual honesty (knowing what one doesn’t know), especially for leaders — as opposed to Plato’s omniscient and omnipotent philosopher-king.
According to Plato, rulers get to lie and punish others for doing so.
Plato would restrict higher education to those in the ruling class too old to fight or to think independently so they will learn and teach authoritarianism. His system to select leaders did untold damage as it became a model for the civilized world. At least nine of his students became tyrants.
Piecemeal social engineering far easier to justify than utopian social engineering due to focus on evident suffering vs. distant ideal. Flaws in utopian method are that goals may change, leading to unnecessary sacrifice, and disagreements on ends or means will lead to violence. Piecemeal method is scientific because it anticipates adjustments based on experience.
Popper said Platonic ideal of beautiful cities cannot come at expense of individual rights. Radical method of “clean canvas” for aesthetic political reform is violent. Lenin tried this and failed. Romantic intentions only lead to hell on earth.
Closed and open societies defined; collectivist vs. personal decisions on right action. Class struggle absent in closed society because it operates like a single organism. This transition in Greece (from closed tribe to open democracy) was a profound revolution for mankind. Climax of this battle was Peloponnesian War between tribal Sparta and commercial, democratic, and imperial Athens.
“Patriot” which means back to paternal state, was Spartan slogan. Socrates, Democritus, and Pericles ushered in the open society that Plato fought half a century later. Constitution of Athens pamphlet led revolt against “unholy rule of freedom.”
Philosophy itself was a response to breakdown of closed society.
Plato was Socrates’ most gifted disciple but betrayed him. Taking advantage of his death, he cast S as speaker in his own lectures and suggested he was indeed guilty of (anti-democracy) by teaching his students to rule. He was a pioneer of propaganda — appealing to moral sentiments for immoral purposes. He not only betrayed S; he compromised his own integrity “with every step he took.”
