Socrates hated democracy because it allowed the poor and uneducated to have a say in government. He believed that only the wealthy and educated should be involved in politics.
In fact, Socrates was a great philosopher in ancient Greece. He taught Plato, who also became a famous philosopher. Socrates lived around 400 BC and was put to death by the Athenian government for “corrupting the youth” of Athens.
In a democratic society, people can vote for their leaders and laws. The Athenian government had no democracy at this time, but Socrates wanted to change that. He believed that only the wealthy and educated should be involved in politics because they could make better decisions than those who were poor or uneducated. His ideas were considered radical at the time because they were against democracy, and he was punished for them by being forced to drink poison (he chose death over leaving Athens). This view is often called elitism or elitist theory. Elitists believe that certain people are more deserving of power than others due to their intelligence or education level.
He also believed that the rich had more interest in making money than serving their fellow citizens. The poor were often forced to sell themselves into slavery because they couldn’t afford to feed themselves properly or pay their debts.
