Why You Think the Way You Do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home

by Glenn S. Sunshine

theologians had to wrestle with the effects of sin on government. Once again, Aristotle helped them, having argued that there were three basic types of government, each of which could exist in positive or negative forms: • The first pair is monarchy and tyranny. Both are characterized by rule by a single individual, though in a monarchy this individual rules for the common good, whereas a tyrant rules for self-interest. A strong point of monarchies is that they can respond quickly in an emergency, but their weakness is that if the monarch makes a mistake, no one can correct it. • The second pair is aristocracy and oligarchy. Both have to do with rule by a small group or council, again with the distinction that aristocracies work for the common good, while oligarchies pursue their own selfish interests. The strength of the aristocracy is its ability to deliberate to make wise decisions; its weakness is that it can be slow to act in an emergency. • The last pair is republic and democracy. A republic is rule by representation; a democracy is literally rule by the mob, through direct decision making by the populace. Democracies are a degenerate form of government because they are inevitably susceptible to falling under the control of a demagogue, a charismatic leader who can sway people to her or his own ends rather than to the common good. Republics are buffered from this danger by the representatives who run the government, yet this system of government also retains the grea...