In the Republic, Plato offers radical solutions to some of the most pressing issues that human beings face. In the arena of politics, Plato attacks democracy and defends a meritocratic state ruled by a philosopher king. He criticizes democracy in principle, as well as how it was practised in Athens at the time. His little-known ship of the state analogy best illustrates the problems he saw in the democratic practices of Athens.
In the ship of the state analogy, Plato asks us to imagine a ship where the shipowner is bigger and stronger than everyone else on board, but he is shortsighted and hard on hearing, and he also lacks knowledge of seafaring. All the sailors on the ship compete eagerly among themselves to persuade the shipowner to let them take control of the ship. Each with the intention to plunder the goods on board for himself. They think that what makes a good navigator is his skills at persuading the shipowner to let him take control of the ship.
In reality, a true captain would be someone who has sufficient knowledge of astronomy and meteorology to steer the ship in its course. But such a person would be dismissed as a useless stargazer by all the others.
Plato believes that the state of affairs in the democratic Athens was not very different from what was happening on the ship.
According to Plato, the ship represents the democratic state of Athens, where the shipowner represents the common people, the sailors represent the democratic politicians, and the stargazer represents a philosopher.
It is the philosopher who can rule and govern the state effectively because of his wisdom and knowledge, but he is deemed useless as a person who talks about abstract worlds. The evidence of how a democratic society treats its genuine philosopher can be seen in the public trial and death sentence of Socrates.
While the common people are stronger and greater in number than political representatives, they cannot make good decisions for themselves. They often choose people who appear to be capable. Like the shipowner, common people are shortsighted. They are not able to make decisions that would benefit them in the long run. So, they are often led by democratic politicians who captivate their attention.
Like the sailors on a ship, politicians compete for power and control. They spend all their time and energies into convincing the people that they are the best candidates for running for office. For them, gaining the public confidence is all it takes to be a good politician. So, in a democratic system, politicians are no good. They just make themselves appear to be capable of running the public office effectively. But they intend to make the best use of the power and authority for their own good.
This ship analogy is an attack on the democratic politicians of Athens, as well as the common people who are unable to make good decisions about their affairs.
The ship-of-state analogy may represent the democracy of Plato’s time closely. But the analogy fails if we apply it to the political affairs of Pakistan. If we try to imagine the affairs of Pakistan with the ship analogy, even though it is quite difficult, if not impossible, to characterize the political affairs of Pakistan with a single example because of the political mess we are in.
We come to such a picture: sailors have joined hands, and they have made the shipowner their slave. They have made a pact to plunder the goods on board fairly among themselves. They are unbothered about the direction of the ship. Any person who attempts to take control and change the direction of the ship to its destination is deemed a danger by sailors, and he or she is persecuted. As if this was not enough. The water police, rather than restoring the order on board, make every effort to maintain the status quo.
This, in my opinion, depicts the current situation in Pakistan or this, at least, is what I see when I look at politics in Pakistan. Am I wrong? Let me know in the comment section.
- A Look At Democracy: From Plato’s Eyes - 09/09/2023
