And here arises the first of our difficulties, and it
relates to the distinction drawn. For democracy is said to be the
government of the many. But what if the many are men of property and
have the power in their hands? In like manner oligarchy is said to
be the government of the few; but what if the poor are fewer than
the rich, and have the power in their hands because they are stronger?
In these cases the distinction which we have drawn between these
different forms of government would no longer hold good.
Suppose, once more, that we add wealth to the few and poverty to the
many, and name the governments accordingly- an oligarchy is said to be
that in which the few and the wealthy, and a democracy that in which
the many and the poor are the rulers- there will still be a
difficulty. For, if the only forms of government are the ones
already mentioned, how shall we describe those other governments
also just mentioned by us, in which the rich are the more numerous and
the poor are the fewer, and both govern in their respective states?
The argument seems to show that, whether in oligarchies or in
democracies, the number of the governing body, whether the greater
number, as in a democracy, or the smaller number, as in an
oligarchy, is an accident due to the fact that the rich everywhere are
few, and the poor numerous.
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