Who Should Rule? Aristocracy, Democracy, and the Question of Political Order

3 Credits.

One constant amid today's polarized political landscape is the assumption that a democratic and egalitarian political order is the preferred form of government. Yet from antiquity onward, even defenders of democratic republicanism have conceded that there is a compelling case for aristocracy (as opposed to oligarchy). In this seminar, we will examine those arguments and counterarguments, sharpening our understanding of the political and social orders in which we live. We will engage directly with thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Tocqueville, Nietzsche, Locke, and the American Founders as they wrestle with these ideas - studying their arguments not in isolation, but in relation to each other and against our own assumptions about power, merit, and justice. Through this process, we will come to understand the merits and dangers of these political traditions. By the end of this course, we will have developed sharper tools for understanding today's debates about elitism, populism, meritocracy, and who deserves to rule. Whether we leave more committed to democratic ideals or newly skeptical of them, we'll know why.