It only seems to us that what is happening in Armenia is unique and unrepeatable. In fact, Plato wrote about the logic of state transformations in the 4th century BC. More specifically, in 360 BC, he wrote his “State,” in which he outlined the forms of government that were, at least, found in countries with “Western traditions” for the next 2.5 millennia. This is also directly related to our 30-year history.
- According to Plato, the state (polis) ruled by a philosopher is ideal. But the Greek philosopher was not naive and understood that it was a utopia that should not be discussed in detail.
- One degree below the ideal, in his opinion, is the monarchy. A monarch is a person who knows what the universal good is. Of course, it is desirable to have a philosopher next to the monarch who will guide the monarch with wise advice, but it is not necessary. It should be mentioned that for some time Plato himself advised the monarch of Sicily. According to legend, these mysteries eventually angered the monarch so much that he sold Plato into slavery, after which his friends bought freedom again for the philosopher.
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- Aristocracy is a little worse than a monarchy when several people know about the same good. It is clear why it is more undesirable. When several people think of the common good, each one “pulls the blanket over themselves.”
- Democracy, the power of the military, contains much greater dangers. First, their element is war; it is, so to speak, a “party of war.” Second, when the military comes to power, they degenerate very quickly, trying to seize property. We witnessed it in Armenia in 1994-98, when the army and the “Yerkrapahs” were given huge political and economic levers. Such a form of government, according to Plato, inevitably leads to a lower degree of oligarchy.
- Oligarchy – power of the few. Few, of course, care about anything other than their pocket. I think that this form of government (1998-2018) should not be explained to the people of Armenia for long. During the oligarchy, society becomes polarized, and the main portion of the people becomes impoverished and lumpenized. By the way, “lumpen” is not a curse, it is a political and economic term, which was often used by Marx. Lumpen is a citizen who has lost their property (for example, as a result of privatization) and becomes involved in daily worries. During the oligarchy, the contradictions between the rich and the poor intensify, they turn into internal conflicts and revolts.
- As a result of all this, democracy is established, towards which, unlike us, Plato has a very negative attitude. According to him, it is perfect chaos, power of the crowd. The crowd has no idea what the common good is and is driven by pure instincts. The members of the mob sooner or later start slaughtering each other, and after that, the state, according to the Greek philosopher, may disappear altogether. But if it does not disappear, then someone appears who slaughters everyone and becomes a dictator.
- Dictatorship (tyranny), according to Plato, is the worst form of government, but, according to the logic of dialectics, only theoretically at some point a philosopher can appear next to a dictator, and in that case the dictator becomes a monarch, and thus begins a new era. We will live to see.
Aram Abrahamyan
