Ideal Society in the Republic of Plato - Essay Example

 Ideal society in the Republic of Plato Is Kallipolis Superior to Other Forms of Government? Institution Introduction: Full title of Plato’s work under consideration is Republic: Concerning Justice. Plato is in search of Justice in the Kallipolis and in the individual. His Kallipolis is largely the ‘city-state’ of his time especially from 427 to 347 B.C.1 The earlier contemporaneous city-state with democratic form of government had inflicted an exile and death sentence on Plato’s master teacher, Socrates. Plato, as such, has always had developed a strong dislike for democracy. For him, democratic systems were full of rampant corruption and in depth injustice. Therefore, Plato, in his work of his middle age, Republic, explores constructing an ideal society minus all the negative aspects of a democratic form of governance. His quest is for an Ideal State and Justice within the then larger society in Greece. He is clearly searching for a superior form of government – an Ideal away from gross irregularities of a democracy. 2 How does Plato construct his ideal society in The Republic? Why does he see this Kallipolis as superior to other forms of government? A few more, as it were, ‘interlocutions’ are necessary here. Such as, are their any inherent socio-contextual, epistemological and thematic limitations of logic in the Republic? Why democracy should be regarded as the best form of political system? Is it proper to criticise Plato, as attempted by Karl Popper, for something fundamentally outside the structure of his work?3 Plato’s Republic is, indeed, a masterly work of philosophy. It is “…a dramatised philosophy of human life”.4 It does not mean that it is an embodiment of perfection. There are imperfections and errors of logic. For example, it is easy for any reader of Plato’s Republic to say “What a life without a wife and without one’s own identifiable progeny” anent his ideas of communism of wives and children. There is also complete omission of law in the Republic. For some analysts, Republic is not a treatise on politics. It is a work on education!5 This appears to be an exceptional work entering into varied though holistic realms of human concerns. Plato Constructs his Ideal Society: His ideal society, among others, is inhabited by three classes, namely, Philosopher Kings, Guardians (soldiers) and Artisans. These three represent three elements in human nature – reason, spirit and appetite respectively. These three elements also have three corresponding virtues – wisdom, courage and temperance. There is an oft quoted saying of Plato where he puts philosophy and wisdom on the highest pedestal in the state. He says “Until philosophers are kings or the kings and princes of this world have the power of philosophy, cities will never have rest from their evils.”6 As such, his ideal society comprises the three main classes while his Ideal State is constructed through duly trained Philosopher Kings and Guardians. The training and discipline of philosopher kings is such that they are provided all safeguards preventing them form indulging in any digression vis-à-vis justice in the state. Justice in the state rests in everyone following one’s own trade and activity for which one is suited best by nature and training (where required). The concept of justice here is linked to the Greek conception of dike, i.e., the just order.7 In such an order, each individual with respective and corresponding elements, virtues and metals of bronze, silver and gold is doing ones own job to a level of highest excellence. Justice, for Plato, is this excellence of work pursued in the area of one’s own best suited craft. Duly trained Guardians are to protect this Platonic city from invaders and wrong doers. These soldiers are like watchdogs and faithful to the dictates of philosopher kings and justice. Philosopher kings are the ones who can see the reality, knowledge, truth and justice. They are those who ‘know’. The education system and communism of wives and children helps prevent philosopher kings form indulging in any act of digression away from justice. Philosopher kings have come out like shining pieces of gold from the test of fire.8 Plato starts from state as an institution and moves to individual in his quest for justice. He considers division of labour and reciprocal needs. In this effort, he even discusses various other forms of government such as democracy, totalitarianism and aristocracy etc. He finds his ideal state as the best possible option among them all. Even entry of private property is also abolished in Republic.9 Why Kallipolis or Ideal State is regarded as Superior to Other States by Plato: Kallipolis for Plato is both a concept and a needed reality lying behind appearances until cave dwellers do not come out into open skies. His Ideal State is completely devoid of corruption, lethargy, inefficiency untruth, ignorance and greed for wealth. Such an ideal utopia has yet not seen the light of day. Does it mean that it cannot be put to practice? Until it is tried at least for once, how can we express doubt about its inherent mundane nature? As regards Karl Popper and his Open Societies and its Enemies, R. B. Levinson has amply shown the too far fetched and quite illogical nature of the argument of his teacher about Plato’s Ideal State. It is not advisable to enter into ‘Popperian’ polemics to prove the excellence of justice in Plato’s Republic. Kallipolis, whether put to practice or not, is better than most of other societies in Plato’s Republic. Since ‘justice’ is its main concern, Plato has very clearly proven the true nature not only of justice but also of an Ideal and a challenge about which statesmen still fear to try. Why? Because it will put their absolutist power under permanent subjugation of practicable wisdom. As Nettleship says: [Justice, thus, becomes the fulfilment of one’s duty at a proper station.] When we call a man wise, we mean he has the power of understanding what is for his real interest as a whole man; when we call a state wise, we ought to mean that the men who have the gift for governing have their understanding entirely set upon the interest of the whole state. Again, a brave man ia one who has the courage of his opinions, that is one who will carry out his principles, whether those principles are the results of his own reason or received from others; and a brave state is one where the men who have to defend it have the courage to carry out the laws and principles improved by constituted authority. Again, by a temperate or self-controlled man, we mean not merely one who governs his appetites, but one in whose soul, there is harmony and no internal conflict between different parts of the nature; and by self-controlled state we mean in which social order is not merely preserved by the army and police, but rests upon general agreement.10 Conclusion: What is most significant in Plato’s Republic is its utmost strength on knowledge and virtue. These are, systemically, in-built once developed in a given direction. Only those who can ‘see’ will govern as they are not akin to succumb to pressures of corruption and other unbridled pursuits attached to corridors of power.11 Plato’s is a wise ideal state, indeed. Only from this wise nature of Kallipolis in his Republic arises yet another possibility. As Sabine and Thorson point out: …Wisdom…cannot abdicate its claims before the claim of law unless law itself has access to a kind of wisdom different from that which scientific reason possesses. If, then, Plato is wrong in trying to make the state over into an educational institution, if this puts a load upon education which it is not able to bear, the philosophical principles – especially the sharp contrast of nature and convention and of reason and experience – need to be re-examined. It is the suspicion that this might be the case, at least the sense that the theory in the Republic had not got to the bottom of all problems involved, that led Plato in his later years to canvass the place the of law in the state and to formulate in the Laws another type of state in which law rather than knowledge should be the ruling force.12 On account of various arrangements that Plato makes for wisdom, spirit, temperance, philosophy, education, training, wealth, private property and communism etc, he is rest assured anent his state being free from perversions of politics and social order. Still Plato emerges quite harsh to modern individual need for personal decisions. Bibliography Barker, Ernest, Greek Political Theory: Plato and his Predecessors (London: Methuen, 1964). Grube, G.M.A. Plato’s Thought (London: 1935). Havelock, Eric A. Preface to Plato (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1963). Levinson, R.B., In Defence of Plato (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1957). Lindsay, A. D., (tr.), Republic (Routledge: London). 1967. Nettleship, R. L., Lectures on the Republic of Plato (London: Macmillan, 1920). Popper, Karl, Open Society and its Enemies, Vol. 1 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1945. Sabine, George H., Thomas L. Thorson, A History of Political Theory (New Delhi: Oxford) 1973. Zeller, Edward, Outlines of the History of Greek Philosophy (London: 1888). Read More