My two cents:
Actually, Plato thought democracy was a step below oligarchy in _The Republic_, one step above anarchy. Remember, his good friend Socrates, the main character in the book, was killed by a true democracy. He argues, as does Madison in the _Federalist Papers_, that pure democracy has very serious flaws. It should be "devolved" to democracy, though democracy also provides freedom and has its place, and we should remember Plato's republic also had "philosopher kings."
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