Platonic justice and Zimbabwe's eight dark years of political polarization: Is merit-based democracy tenable?

The purpose of this article is to show that the Platonic principles of justice could be used to promote 'merit-based democracy' in Zimbabwe if the inclusive government can prioritize on education for the masses. Through the use of in-depth interviews and the lances of logical analysis, the article concluded that the political violence that gripped Zimbabwe's countryside in the last eight years was a result of political polarization, meddling and the state's deliberate neglect of education as an institution that has the power to create a just and democratic society. The article begins by delineating Plato's theory of justice and his criticism of democracy in Athens. Building on these Platonic principles of justice, the article calls for a 'merit-based' democratic society that combines the efforts of both democracy and meritocracy. In the final analysis, the article emphasizes the importance of merit as a function of education and its immense benefits to informed democracy.