Democracy emphasizes maximum freedom, so power is distributed evenly. The gap between rich and poor widens, culminating in a revolt by the underclass majority, establishing a democracy. The oligarchic government is dominated by the desiring element, in which the rich are the ruling class. As the emphasis on honor is compromised by wealth accumulation, it is replaced by oligarchy. The timocratic government is dominated by the spirited element, with a ruling class of property-owners consisting of warriors or generals (Ancient Sparta is an example). When its social structure breaks down and enters civil war, it is replaced by timocracy. The starting point is an imagined, alternate aristocracy (ruled by a philosopher-king) a just government dominated by the wisdom-loving element. He argues that a society will decay and pass through each government in succession, eventually becoming a tyranny, the most unjust regime of all. Socrates discusses four unjust constitutions: timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny.
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