"Aristophanes is right in The Clouds: democracy automatically produces two classes of
people--knaves and fools-and if it weren't for the support it gets from knaves and fools, there
would be no such thing as democracy." To what degree, if any, is this true? In responding to
this topic, be sure that you conceive of "democracy" in a way that is useful in considering
Aristophanes' play. Don't just turn to dictionary definitions; they are merely places to start in
thinking about the concepts you're using. And notice: this topic is about the ideas presented in
the play, having to do with a general concept of "democracy"; it is not about specific political
issues in our modern "democratic" world. Some brief examples of them may be all right as
illustrations, but don't get carried away with discussing them.