Democracy tempered by Aristocracy: rethinking an old idea

Abstract

This article retakes an argument that has ancient roots, but is nowadays largely forgotten, namely that democracy, to be viable and stable, stands in need of aristocratic checks. First of all, institutional checks, like an Upper House in Parliament, and a professional judiciary. But more importantly – and that is what the article focuses on – an aristocratic ethos in the rulership or leadership. The tradition of reflection on the aristocratic ethos, going back to antiquity, is described, including the virtue theory it propounds. Finally, an overview is given of the traditional ideas on how to create and ensure the influence of the aristocratic ethos over the rulers or leaders.