The Importance Of A Good Government

In book VIII of Plato’s Republic, Socrates begins to discuss with Glaucon the four stages of government. Socrates identifies four basic governments and speaks of them in order of what he observes to be common occurrence. He begins with Timocracy, a government driven by the brave warriors and war heros of the day. Timocracy closely resembles how a powerful army is governed. It runs like a well oiled machine by the most powerful men. The second, an oligarchy, men of power not of strength, but of goods and riches. These men lavish their wealth on their passions and care little for anything but that which they can buy with money. The third, democracy. Democracy is made up of many men desiring freedom. Those who would rather die than be chained to the rich. The fourth and final form of government Socrates discusses is tyranny. The tyrant is a government driven by one man, who with no concern for his people, rules most unlawfully. Socrates says that the tyrannical government is the most regrettable form of government, ruled by the worst kind of man. Socrates says these are the inevitable stages in which every government will downfall.

Throughout the rise and fall of the Roman empire, the government was a combination of a democracy and republic. Starting with Romulus, Rome was first ruled by a series of seven kings until 509 BCE when Rome constructed itself a Republic til

People began using metals, such as copper and bronze, instead of stones to make tools. Later on, they created a system of letters and began to write. This new form of living was called civilization. To keep peace among people living closely together and the city-state, they need rules. The first set of laws was The Code of Hammurabi, as rules were called, they needed some sort of authority so the rules were enforced. Thus some societies developed governments. The rules were enforced no matter the person's hierarchy. Also wasn’t only one type of government. There are different types of governments that were used in great civilization due to beliefs of the leader and society, some of them were the absolute monarchy, empire, direct democracy, or

Systems of government have a major influence on the development and success of a civilization and culture. This can be said about Athens during its Golden Age and about China during the Han dynasty. Han China was ruled by an imperial bureaucracy based upon the teachings of Confucius which allowed only a tiny part of its population to participate in government. In contrast, 5th Century Athens was a direct democracy which allowed a greater number of its inhabitants to take part in governing. These civilizations differed greatly in geography, population and size which influenced their development. They also held contrasting beliefs regarding the source of political authority and how it was maintained. However, these civilizations also shared

While I was analyzing the two Greek heroes Theseus and Oedipus origins, it became obvious that they share quite a few differences and similarities as is common amongst heroes in Greek mythology. The first similarity I found the two heroes shared was the love and honor their subjects regarded their kings with. Theseus was revered for his strategic planning and how he used his power to create an equal ruling between the power of the king and his people. He was acknowledged as one of the first leaders to create a Democracy, allowing his people to have a say into how the kingdom is ruled. “I myself, will be your leader in wars, and at all times the protector of laws, but beyond this all my fellow citizens shall have equal rights with me” (216). By allowing the inhabitants of Attica to access part of the power of the king, Theseus knew that his subjects would abide by this ruling because of the value and gain they would receive from becoming a united community. I feel this peaceful treaty between the two dynamics; the rich and the poor shows that Theseus was an intelligent and courageous king worthy of the equal amounts of love and fear the king instilled in the city of Athens. The way Theseus resolved the issue between the two class systems leads me to believe that Theseus admirers rigid structure and control but since he is willing to give some of his power to the citizens of Athens in order to keep peace, he became known as a peaceful ruler instead of a forceful tyrant.

Theseus and Quetzalcoatl exhibit great leadership and through you get an insight on the Greek and Toltec culture. For example, Hamilton writes, “ He resigned his royal power and organized a commonwealth, building a council hall where the citizens should gather and vote” (Hamilton 918). Theseus offered liberty and brought prosperity to Athens, as he created one of the first places where the people could govern themselves.

A just government is fair, balanced, and gives back to the citizens of the nation that give consent to be governed so that the nation may be secure. It is important to have a just government so that the nation can continue to evolve. The Constitution created a just government that provided more security than the Articles of Confederation had previously provided. The founders of the United States intended for all citizens to experience a just government through the Constitution. The Constitution established a balanced state and federal government, taxes that created federal revenue, and three branches of government that provided a just government for the United States.

Overall, the ancient greeks valued Theseus because of his compassion and wisdom. Theseus showed compassion when Hercules’s burst of insanity, caused by his stepmother, Hera, led him to kill his wife and children and then want to kill himself. Although the public shunned Hercules, Theseus thought that a man could not be charged for murder if he had not known what he was doing, and those who had influenced the man should be charged for the crime as well. So Theseus brought him under his wing and welcomed him inside his house. Theseus, who was just as compassionate as he was wise, demonstrated his wisdom after his father’s death, who was king of Athens. The only place of power he wanted was the position of commander and chief. He also formed a council and a place where people could vote. Thus, establishing the first democracy. As seen in my first example, Theseus showed compassion to Hercules, when no other man

Government is a key part of a civilization lasting by having set base rules that apply to everyone and an efficient way to chose the next emperor. In rome there were the twelve tables that applied to the slave to even the senate, these rules stated that “Laws of personal exemption shall not be posposed. Laws concerning capital punishment of a citizen shall not be passed… except by the general assembly” (Twelve Tables of Roman Law). This shows that if any future laws were made they would have to made through the twelve tables. The roman empire was one of the largest empires to ever be around but from 235 CE to 285 CE the roman empire had 22 emperors in the course of 50 years and of those 22, 18 were assassinated (Roman Emperors). Near the end

Many different forms of government have existed throughout civilization. Theocracy, dictatorships, democracy, and many others have all had periods of time where they reigned as the government of choice. Arguments could be made in favor of each form of government. The key to finding the most viable form of government is to consider this: which form of government provides the most stability for the state?

The best government is a Republic government. A Republic government is also known as a direct democracy. It is very effective and works smoothly. The people are big part of the government, because they vote on a leader to represent them and make decisions for them. This way of democracy is amazing because of how the people are such a big part of it. Another interesting fact is that the first Republic was the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was an impressive system that lasted for 500 years. It was impressive because it had three branches, the Magistrates, the Senate, and the Assemblies and Tribunes. The Magistrates were elected officials who enforced laws and judged cases. The Senate are wealthy citizens who helped pass laws and controlled

Through history, everyone is trying to rise to the top. However, the ones at the top are not always the most suitable. This becomes evident in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, where Oedipus becomes the ruler of Thebes after defeating the Sphinx. Throughout the story, Oedipus fails to meet the characteristics of a good leader, including: humbleness, selflessness and patience.

The way the government worked in that time shaped the minds to citizens. In the book, The REpublic of Pluto, by Allan Bloom, it can be very clearly shown through the character Socrates. The way the government worked, or more of how it didn’t work made it so Socrates could deeply understand and think about how there needs to be a clarity between the government and the people. Through his thoughts he was able to influence others.

I would have to agree with you, without knowledgeable and aware citizens a well-running government is not an option. I too don't know a lot about our government but I'm hoping to change that. I think that knowing what the candidate elects stand for is important because that is what they will represent in office. I also think that more citizens should know more about our government. Everyone as a citizen has a job which is to vote. Not acknowledging what is going on in our government puts us at risk. That risk is having someone in office that doesn't even know what they are doing.

WHAT LESSONS DO THE ANCIENT GREEKS TEACH US ABOUT THE ROLE OF PERSONAL CHARACTER IN A GOOD NATIONAL LEADER?