reedom or license leads to the rise of democracy. And finally, as the desire for freedom increases and becomes limitless, the city is said to fall into a state of tyranny. Thus, for Plato, a tyrant is a democrat who has lost all restraint. While Plato views the decay towards tyranny as a uniform digression, the presence of this widespread decay ultimately creates the conditions for one person to rise to power. (Republic, 565d)
             Within this digression, reason is gradually overcome by appetite until an "insatiable desire" for freedom transforms a democracy into a tyranny. While such terms as "freedom" and "democracy" may elicit certain connotations for the contemporary reader, it is important to keep in mind that Plato views a regime that promotes freedom and license as its primary objective as a place where reason is overcome by desire. While citizens of such regimes might equate unrestricted democracy with freedom, as Plato explains, "the real tyrant is, even if he doesn't seem so...in truth a real slave." (Republic, 579d)
             In practical terms, Plato views money and private property as the floodgate to this decay:
             Whenever they'll possess private land, houses, and currency, they'll become... masters and enemies instead of allies of the other citizens; hating and being hated, plotting and being plotted against, they'll lead their lives far more afraid of the enemies within than those without. Then they themselves as well as the rest of the city are alread
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