An Invitation to Philosophy by Ed L. Miller, McGraw Hill, 4th Ed. Sparta, ruled by the warrior class, was a prime example of timocracy. It regarded military success as the highest good. Where the timocratic state sought glory as its chief end, the plutocratic one seeks wealth, a baser objective. Like plutocracy, it is motivated by the belief that wealth is the thing most worth pursuing.
Democracy denies that the work of ruling requires any special qualities or expertise.
Moreover, it is motivated by envy, having as its sole aim the negative one of preventing the concentration of authority and wealth in others hands. Despotism or tyranny is the natural outcome of democracy. It occurs when a popular leader exploits the envy and suspicion of the masses in order to secure supreme power for himself. He did not , however, mind the concentration of power in one man s hands. If the ruler were superior in wisdom and devoted to the common good, such a benevolent tyranny would be the preferred form of government.