Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government Kenneth Andrew Andres Leonardo recently published an article in Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought. “The Dangers of Demagogues and Democratic Revolution: on Aristotle’s Education of the Serious” appears in the May 2024 issue.
According to Leonardo, the “apprehension regarding demagogues seems to transcend time, ranging from concerns that date back to Ancient Greece to modern anxieties in liberal democracies.” In this article, he investigates the dangers of demagogues, or the popular leaders, in democracies as described in Aristotle’s extant ethical and political works.
“Ultimately, the actions of a demagogue can undermine the rule of law, and the demagogue may end up serving as a ‘flatterer of the people,’” Leonardo notes. He traces this problem to the discussion of revolution in democracies where Aristotle indicates that certain individuals who are serious about political rule can be excessively eager for office and on the path to becoming demagogues.
Leonardo points out some possible institutional and educational solutions to this problem – institutional solutions revolving around ways to address inequality and the transgression of laws, and educational solutions that persuade the audience to be serious about the pursuit of virtue, justice, and prudence, culminating with a view to both friendship and citizenship.
