Daktoria
Banned
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2011
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I don't remember who said it whether it was Socrates, Aristotle, or Plato, but one of them said that only elites are sophisticated enough to grasp the big picture of society, so only they should be involved despite the plurality of Athenian Democracy. When unsophisticates participate, it makes politics boring, and disregards the finer things of life which society is supposed to aspire for. These finer things are fundamentally crafted by the populace anyway, so if the populace participates in politics when it's supposed to be crafting the foundations of art, then the populace is wasting its time.
The argument can be analogized to the avant garde-pop culture divide as well. Pop culture is designed to hypnotize the masses, so if the hypnotized are allowed to participate in culture, it corrupts the system. Just because someone enjoys listening to music doesn't mean someone knows how to compose music.
Therefore, should only elites participate in politics such that politics remains an artistic, sociable endeavor?
The argument can be analogized to the avant garde-pop culture divide as well. Pop culture is designed to hypnotize the masses, so if the hypnotized are allowed to participate in culture, it corrupts the system. Just because someone enjoys listening to music doesn't mean someone knows how to compose music.
Therefore, should only elites participate in politics such that politics remains an artistic, sociable endeavor?