Trump's chariot is out of control. (18.02.2025)

Trump’s chariot is out of control.

Plato and Trump? Not a friendship made in heaven. Plato would have disliked him about as much as he’d disliked anyone of his ilk. Sadly, he would have also used Trump to make his case against democracy. Why? because democracy gives people the power to elect a demagogue; it works against itself.

I don’t agree with Plato’s politics, but what he has to say is insightful.

Let’s start with Trump. We can liken him to a horse tied to a chariot that refuses to come under the governance of the charioteer. This needn’t be the horse’s fault; the charioteer is also to blame because it lacks the ability to impose its will. Either way, the chariot is hurtling down the road and threatening everything that comes in its way; it’s going to cause a lot of damage. Basically, reason (the charioteer) isn’t in control; it’s probably not even holding onto the reins.

This is Plato’s theory of human nature. Our minds are composed of three parts: reason, our spirited side and appetite. For us to be psychologically whole, we need reason to be in charge. For most of us, this is (more or less) the case; reason is doing a decent job of keeping our chaotic tendencies in check. Sometimes, though, it loses a rein and one of the horses takes over.

This tripartite theory has been deeply influential. You’ll find echoes of it in the works of Freud and Jung but unlike those two giants of psychotherapy, Plato thinks we can structure a perfect society out it.

Supposedly, individuals have a natural inclination towards one of the three parts of the mind. Some people demonstrate a spirited nature from an early age, while others a more rational one. You can think of the bookish kid at school or the one that is excellent at sport. You might also remember the classroom bully or the teenager who has to be going out with everyone.

While the bookish kid might also like football (spirited) and ice-cream (appetitive), they naturally seek a balance in their lives.  The bully doesn’t; the bully rebels against the inner voice of reason.

This isn’t a theory of supressed trauma however; there’s no pity or compassion for the bully. The best Plato will offer us is reincarnation to justify it and societal structure to control it.

So, what of the ideal Republic? Let’s start with the ‘rational’ child; they must be taken away from the home and educated into philosophy. The spirited child should be trained for the military and the child who is controlled by appetite is best suited to manual work.

Who rules the Republic? You’ve guessed it: the person whose natural inclination is towards reason. Why? Because they can’t be seduced by power or money. They are motivated by the great virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance and truthfulness, and consequently their rule is one of justice and peace.

Which gets us back to Trump. Plato’s analysis of the problem is obvious: democracy has allowed the people to elect the worst version of themselves.

Is there any hope for the USA? Not really. Trump’s going to drag that chariot until it crashes, and this is inevitable. Trump is who he is because of his past lives. According to Plato, he was probably a pig (greedy) or a bull (lascivious) or a peacock (vain) or any other such creature. His soul hasn’t liberated itself because its insatiable hunger won’t let him. 

And this is where (contrary to Plato) the hope of democracy resides: in four years’ time, the people might have learnt enough to choose a wiser ruler. Let’s hope so anyway!