Philosopher Kings

I consider Plato's Republic to be a cornerstone of right wing thought. Despite considering myself a lefty I have never disagreed with his assertion that the Philosopher King is the optimal form of rule when you have it. I also entirely agree with him that it is not sustainable nor is it something you can aim for, it is just luck when you get one and that luck will assuredly run out. This is why I have always favoured democracy, a less optimal but more consistent and entirely sustainable method of governance.

To this end I have always been an advocated of John Stuart Mill's approach towards liberty and society. For democracy to work you need to trust in the good judgement of people. John Stuart Mill is a man who advocates liberty and education as a means towards ensuring people can make good judgement.  I had chosen to believe him as his ideas fit with mine regarding a social view and therefore a way of maximising the effectiveness of democracy.

What I have recently realized is that there is every chance that John Stuart Mill was just a Philosopher King himself, it was he who made his people great and not so much the environments he created. It is impossible to say which is which or even really separate those two things however it does serve as an ominous reminder that my political beliefs are potentially misguided.

If Plato is right and the only way to have the people of John Stuart Mill is by having an actual John Stuart Mill in the first place then right wing politics are probably more on the money than the left in a theoretical sense. This is sad, it means society works best when people are told what to do, when they are given less choice and less freedom when it comes to running things.

I have always been a strong supporter of referendum votes. Single issues are much clearer and purer than voting for people or parties and their complete set of opinions and stances on all matters. Recent events with the British EU referendum vote has completely shaken this view I once held. I felt entirely unqualified to hold an opinion on the matter and would much rather an executive had been in charge of the outcome.

Further to this I found the single issue to be incredibly divisive. The country seems incredibly split with far too much vitriol held for the other side. Given that I had no factual basis to cast my vote upon I used social premises to guide me. The status quo was fine as far as I could and voting to leave a union is never going to have the effect of increasing your foreign relations. As such I was part of the remain camp. I am not angry to have lost, I am sad about it but far from devastated. This is the only public comment I have made on the matter thus far.

Change and upheaval can be very good things for society, leaving the EU might have been the right thing to do in lots of ways. I didn't know before and I still don't now. We are where we are and so all there is to do is make the best of things going forward. Getting angry at those who got us here will only make things worse.

The significant aspect to me of all these recent events is how it has shaken up my belief system and not at all the potential economic ramifications. A little like losing ones faith. I thought I knew where I stood politically and now I have far less idea. I was a left wing democrat, now I am just confused. It is perhaps back to the drawing board for a Utopian form of governance. Referendums seem fair but is fairness worth all the conflict that comes with it?

The issue might not be with referendums and democracy as such and could be to do with the present difficulty in establishing truths and facts within current society. There is so much information, so many voices and such short attention spans that truth is often just the group shouting the loudest. I have a lot of rethinking to do and society has a lot of rebuilding to do but none of that has to be a bad thing. Questioning things, especially those you thought you knew, is a healthy way to go about things.

For now the main thing I can take from this is that I am far more likely to cast my votes towards potential Philosopher Kings and far less towards political ideals. I can also fairly comfortably state that none of the prospective replacements for David Cameron we have give even the slightest wiff of the complete Plato package. Can we just have a referendum to put David Attenborough or perhaps Steven Fry in charge for a bit?