1. Plato’s Republic and the Authoritarian Option
A central part of Jesus’ ministry involved instructions on how to build
communities grounded in love. This is an alternative to the scapegoating
mechanism, in which contempt and hatred for “others” unites people. This is
the “beloved community,” a term popularized by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.
Last essay, I considered strengths and weaknesses of democracies. This week,
I will consider authoritarianism. Many people are attracted to authoritarian
governance. While some of the motivations might be more psychological than
practical (e.g., an infantile wish for protection by an omnipotent “father
figure”), authoritarian regimes do offer some theoretical advances over
democracies. In particular, authoritarians can make swift and decisive
decisions, and governance does not require the mandate of a populace that
can be fickle or ill-informed.
The problem with authoritarian regimes, of course, is that the
authoritarians generally serve their own interests rather than those of the
populace. Plato tried to address this problem by proposing that a just city
would select from among its members the most meritorious person (man or
woman) whose philosophic wisdom would guide them to best serve the needs of
the people. Importantly, they would be inspired to such general benevolence
because children would be taught that such governance is the will of the
gods. Here, I think, is the problem. What if the philosopher king/queen
comes to the conclusion that the gods don’t exist, or that they exist
differently as envisioned by the ancient Greeks, or that their desires are
not as benevolent as Plato would have wanted? In other words, if a wise and
thoughtful king/queen came to reject a theology that is nearly universally
regarded today as fictional, the foundation of the Republic would collapse.
Then, there would be little reason for the king/queen to sacrifice
self-interest in favor of general well-being. Even if the king/queen
remained devoted to the Greek gods, would it not be tempting for the
king/queen to believe that the gods wished to serve the king’s/queen’s
interests predominantly? Finally, what if many adults became skeptical of
these views about the gods? How can we expect them to teach children things
they themselves don’t believe.
Next week, I will offer an ambitious but, in my opinion, viable strategy for
saving humanity.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
2. All-Creatures.Org Ministry
Here are our recent All-Creatures Newsletter, which we hope you like and
share with others to help stop the exploitation and killing of animals.