Plato’s The Republic and Ideal State

Considered one of Plato’s most well-known and influential works, The Republic is a classic Platonic dialogue, and the earliest surviving utopia in Europe’s history. Plato’s work is important for containing various elements such as definitions of moral terms, recommendations for political change, questions about the state of the universe, reality, and the methodology of human knowledge.

Socrates' Role in His Work

Plato was influenced by the controversial thinker and teacher Socrates. He was so impactful on Plato that it caused him to relinquish his political ambitions and devote himself to philosophy. Eventually, Socrates was unjustly condemned to death by the court in 399 BC. Afterward, Plato came to the conclusion that all existing governments were corrupt and beyond redemption. This is considered the main reason why he wrote his work. Plato’s political philosophy has been the subject of much criticism. In The Republic, Plato’s character Socrates is a critic of democracy, proposing an aristocratic group of ideal leaders called philosopher-kings. Socrates also claims that democracy is a danger because of its excessive freedom, arguing that it may risk bringing dictators or leaders without proper skills or morals to power.

Plato’s Conception of Ideal State

In order to describe his ideal state, Plato portrays his character of Socrates as a mouthpiece that comes forward as a virtuous human, then contrasts him with several defective characters in Athens. Through a unified argument, he defends a just life. Plato lists three major classes of citizens in his ideal society. The classes are given the titles of artisans, auxiliaries, and philosopher-kings, each of whom should contribute to the state according to their capacities. Although all citizens are children of the earth, their true nature, as crafted by God, separates them from the citizens of other societies. Not only has Plato separated society into castes based on ability instead of birth, but he wants the people to accept the myth that justifies their own positions and political power as well.

Importance of Justice and His Main Point

Socrates returns to the question, “What is justice?”. Among the four virtues are wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice, which, according to Plato, is the all-inclusive virtue. Thus, the others have to be defined first in order to acquire their definition. The rulers are the ones whose wisdom makes the city wise. Likewise, a city’s wisdom manifests itself in the treatment of its citizens. Courage represents the army’s courage, while moderation is a sense of the limits that bring peace and tranquility to all.

Justice, having a higher status, has a definition based on social structure, in which every citizen in the city has only one job. In other words, if every citizen of the city is politically just, the city as a whole will be moderate, courageous, and wise. Plato’s main point is that justice cannot be assigned to any of the classes due to its importance to society as a whole and its function. In this sense, he wants to challenge the readers’ conception of justice in order to produce a better world, but at the same time, he wants to preserve their allegiance and not destroy the world.