Aristotle's Portrayal of Democracy as a Mob Rule: A Take

Abstract

The paper carefully analyses the reasons for and effects of Aristotle's depiction of democracy as a ‘mob rule.' The paper utilises the Democratic Correlates Prism as its theoretical lens and employs the qualitative, documentary method as its tool for data collection. The findings of the paper include, democracy is a mere mob rule because it is planned and led by the largely unorganised and often uneducated masses; democracy could not facilitate even development because of the shambolic nature of the atmosphere that it is operated; democracy could not guarantee sound human and physical security because it is often hijacked by the corrupt elements in society, who only promote their selfish interests at the expense of the needed public good or interest. These findings have implications for the growth, popularity, continuity and future of democracy as a system of government.