Why America is going bankrupt…

This might sound strange, but I have learned more from Plato than just about anyone.

There is much, for example, to be learned from him about the human soul. If you’re familiar with his writings, then you know that Plato divided the human soul into three parts the noetic (corresponding to one’s head or mind – it’s the rational aspect of man), the thymotic (corresponding to one’s heart – it’s the courageous aspect of man), and the epithymotic (corresponding to one’s stomach – it’s the appetites or passions of man). Guess which one is the strongest? You got it: the appetites. This explains why so many intelligent people (it’s okay to look in the mirror at this point) do some of the most irrational (read: stupid) things! Indeed, as Plato explains, the noetic can only rule over the epithymotic by enlisting the aid of the thymotic. Or, to put it differently, you can only rule over your appetites when you truly have a cause worth sacrificing your appetites in favor of. More on that in a second…

Plato also observed also how each of the different regimes or governments of man, both good and evil, relate to one of these three aspects of the human soul. The noetic (or head) relates, for example, to the monarchy (good) or to the dictator (bad). That’s the rule of the one. The thymotic relates to the aristocracy (good) or the oligarchy (bad). That’s the rule of the few. And then here comes the shocking part: the epithymotic (or the stomach, the passionate or appetitive) relates to the polity (good) or the democracy (bad). Surprised? The truth is, classically understood, democracy is the single most corrupt form of government in the world and the reason for that is simple: it’s a form of government that is subject to the appetites or passions of the masses of its people. It’s the rule of the many. Moreover, because everyone can vote and everyone votes for the person or people who will, at least ostensibly, do the most for them, its single greatest threat is bankruptcy. And, of course, since there are always far more poor people than rich, guess who has the greatest number of votes? As a result, you end up with a government that spends itself into oblivion by leaders who care more about being elected than they do the good of the republic. And that’s not a knock on the poor and that’s not a knock on the rich (though I suppose it is a knock on self-interested politicians), it’s just a fact. One more fact: when a democracy goes bankrupt it almost always gives way to the tyrant (you know, the guy who claims to have the plan that can make it all right – cf. Adolf Hitler).

So why, then, has it worked so well here in the US? The simple answer to that is virtue. Alexis de Tocqueville observed that America is great because America is good. That is to say, historically, America has had a virtuous people, who kept their passions in check by enlisting the aid of their hearts which were largely given over to Christ. Christ was their cause! He was the one worth sacrificing their appetites for. So then, what’s the way out for America? It seems to me that the answer has to be: revival. And that’s something that we should seek for reasons other than the good of our country. We should seek it for nothing less than the glory of God.