Democracy leads to despotism

Plato stated that, “Democracy leads to despotism.” In his time-period, democracy was a lot different due to the fact that approximately 5% of the population could vote. This +/- 5% was the collective voice of Greek men who weren’t slaves and were old enough to vote. The remainder of the population consisted of slaves, women and children. Because they were the only ones who could vote, they essentially controlled the entire populations’ government. This is why Plato believed all democracy led to despotism, because he lived in society where the government was unjust. I believe that despotism isn’t directly caused by democracy; it is caused by people who intentionally destroy democracy. For example, Spain had a democratic system between the 2nd Republic. General Francisco Franco from the Spanish army wanted power and a different kind of government, so he and his followers started a war. They overthrew the Spanish system and he created his own dictatorship. Democracy can work, as long as it is set up properly and there aren’t individuals or groups who deliberately break down its’ structure. When it is tampered with, democracy can lead to despotism.