Universal Tyranny

The Socratic Attack on Tyrannical Psychology

Elucidates the shared insight into the critique of tyrannical rule among Plato, Xenophon, and Aristotle.

Universal Tyranny offers the first comprehensive interpretation of the critique of tyranny in the thought of Socrates's greatest students: Plato, Aristotle, and Xenophon. The Socratics are the only thinkers to confront the problem of tyranny on its own terms, as a permanent and plausibly attractive option in politics. They explore what people find attractive in tyrannical power and elucidate the core psychological features of tyrannical ambition: pleasure in violence toward enemies, hostility to the rule of law, a desire for love and admiration, and a rejection of any limit to the fulfillment of one's desires. In their view, these characteristics are not the result of anomalous sadism but of misguided and unhealthy versions of attributes that otherwise play an important role in human flourishing. Through a synthetic study of the early Socratic school, author Avery Williams argues that tyrannical rule debases not only the tyrant's subject but the tyrant himself, making true human excellence impossible. Tyranny thus fails at the fundamental aim of politics: It makes neither ruler nor ruled happy.

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