This explains why Plato hated democracy, they killed his daddy.
TraditionalClub6337 on
It’s not like majority haven’t voted to oppress minorities in democracies trough ages. What the f*ck is wrong with people
TiberiusGemellus on
Socrates would have grated me so much that I too might have voted against him. Insufferable old man.
trito_jean on
socrates the guy who inveted ragebait and was very succesfull at it
bobbymoonshine on
Yeah no shit a bunch of his students had just launched a coup in collaboration with the victorious Spartans, [established a tyrannical oligarchy that overthrew the democracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Tyrants), killed 5% of the Athenian population in political murders, and then were themselves overthrown again by the Athenian people within eight months.
Socrates meanwhile just hung out in the city, continuing to associate with the Tyrants in power, apparently perfectly fine with all these events. After all, his prized pupil Critias was their leader, and his pupil Xenophon (one of two favourable sources for him, Plato being the other) was leader of their enforcement militia, among others in his circle who were part of their clique. Socrates later argued that he had not directly participated in any of their crimes, but then again he also didn’t do anything to impede them or warn their victims despite having foreknowledge of the Tyrants’ targets.
Meanwhile the various people he spent all his time harassing and insulting were organising the popular resistance that restored democracy, and when they restored popular sovereignty the first thing they wanted to do was clear house of all the people who had just tried to kill off Athenian democracy for good.
This all makes the charge that Socrates had “corrupted the youth”, and the democracy’s willingness to put him to death for it, quite a bit more understandable, I think. Like this wasn’t “oh no what if they don’t believe in the right gods” but rather “dude, the kids we sent you to learn about ethics just collaborated with our enemies to set up a brutal corrupt dictatorship that killed 5% of our people and stole all their stuff, like if that’s honoring the gods I don’t know what kind of fuckass gods you’re making up”
The Socrates on trial is like “oho but what is ethics really, how can you say I invent gods and also don’t believe in the gods, gotcha democritards, if anything I should be given a pension for teaching my students how stupid you all are”
Unsurprisingly, this does not convince the people not to kill him.
Then Plato is like “ah but you see democracy, you have already lost in the eyes of history, for I have written you all as the malding soyjaks and Socrates as the Chad.”
OttoVon_Biscuit on
Didn’t he dislike democracy for being “rule of the mob” ?
6 Comments
This explains why Plato hated democracy, they killed his daddy.
It’s not like majority haven’t voted to oppress minorities in democracies trough ages. What the f*ck is wrong with people
Socrates would have grated me so much that I too might have voted against him. Insufferable old man.
socrates the guy who inveted ragebait and was very succesfull at it
Yeah no shit a bunch of his students had just launched a coup in collaboration with the victorious Spartans, [established a tyrannical oligarchy that overthrew the democracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Tyrants), killed 5% of the Athenian population in political murders, and then were themselves overthrown again by the Athenian people within eight months.
Socrates meanwhile just hung out in the city, continuing to associate with the Tyrants in power, apparently perfectly fine with all these events. After all, his prized pupil Critias was their leader, and his pupil Xenophon (one of two favourable sources for him, Plato being the other) was leader of their enforcement militia, among others in his circle who were part of their clique. Socrates later argued that he had not directly participated in any of their crimes, but then again he also didn’t do anything to impede them or warn their victims despite having foreknowledge of the Tyrants’ targets.
Meanwhile the various people he spent all his time harassing and insulting were organising the popular resistance that restored democracy, and when they restored popular sovereignty the first thing they wanted to do was clear house of all the people who had just tried to kill off Athenian democracy for good.
This all makes the charge that Socrates had “corrupted the youth”, and the democracy’s willingness to put him to death for it, quite a bit more understandable, I think. Like this wasn’t “oh no what if they don’t believe in the right gods” but rather “dude, the kids we sent you to learn about ethics just collaborated with our enemies to set up a brutal corrupt dictatorship that killed 5% of our people and stole all their stuff, like if that’s honoring the gods I don’t know what kind of fuckass gods you’re making up”
The Socrates on trial is like “oho but what is ethics really, how can you say I invent gods and also don’t believe in the gods, gotcha democritards, if anything I should be given a pension for teaching my students how stupid you all are”
Unsurprisingly, this does not convince the people not to kill him.
Then Plato is like “ah but you see democracy, you have already lost in the eyes of history, for I have written you all as the malding soyjaks and Socrates as the Chad.”
Didn’t he dislike democracy for being “rule of the mob” ?