The word timocracy developed in ancient Greece and referred to a system of government, where the only ones who have the opportunity to be part of it are those who own certain capital or certain assets; otherwise they will not be able to form part of the government. This system was proposed in the 6th century by the statesman and legislator Solon in the constitution of Athens.
Solón considered that laws should be created where rights will be granted to citizens, depending on their economic power or social class. In this way the individuals who had more money enjoyed some rights and the warriors of others. In a way, those who were military represented a special caste, which had access to power.
From a philosophical perspective, great thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle or Socrates meditated on the most appropriate systems of government to establish in societies and coincidentally agreed that democracy was not the most appropriate, since they thought that, over time, government of the people could end up sunk in corruption. When Plato refers to timocracy, he envisions a government led by the military, who act guided by a sense of honor.
However Plato does not consider this system of government as the most suitable since the most desirable thing would be for governments to be led by philosophers and sages, since they would be guided by truth and justice. The truth is that for this philosopher, timocracy is full of imperfections and a deviation from what a good government should really be
These reflections of Plato, should not be taken into account as mere reflections; It should be remembered that in the course of history many nations have been ruled by the military, who have assumed power motivated by a sense of honor. However, it goes without saying that many of these governments have failed in their way of exercising power, since many of them have fallen into totalitarianism.
There is no doubt that the best form of government is one where the people choose who will represent them in the government and that any citizen has the possibility to run for these positions; In other words, those who wish to have access to power should only be chosen through popular vote.
