Plato's Republic: Reason, Governance, and the Ideal State

Current Rating of the Text

The utopia of the ideal state in Plato's Republic introduces valuable principles, some of which seem lost today:

• The rule of reason
• Concern for the public good to ensure responsible governance, not interested in personal use of the position (a stance against corruption seen in other political systems)
• The importance of education for both rulers and citizens
• Government involvement in the happiness of citizens
• The equality of women relative to men

However, we also find reprehensible aspects, taking into account the risks of this totalitarian system. If everything is driven by power, such as private property and the family (spouse and children), and considering issues of interest in the educational program, we seem to be overriding individual liberty. We would be subjected to the guidelines of the omniscience of the rulers who, in the name of Truth, would control the entire social fabric. In our recent history, we have suffered various totalitarian regimes. In this sense, we value freedom and personal autonomy over systems that can bring individuals to fascist, dictatorial, communist, or other totalitarian leaders, including Platonic ones.

Analysis of Plato's Republic

The passage before us pertains to a discussion of Book X of Plato's Republic.

Plato was a Greek philosopher of the 4th century BC, instrumental in the history of Western philosophy. His main theory is the Theory of Ideas, according to which reality, ontologically, is divided into two levels:

1. The Physical World: This world is plural, changing, and imperfect. Epistemologically, it is known through the senses, which are only capable of obtaining opinions from it.
2. The World of Ideas: Ontologically perfect and the model for imperfect physical copies. Ideas are intangible, absolute, eternal realities that exist independently of physical objects. Epistemologically, ideas are known by reason, and this knowledge gives science or episteme.

The Ideal State in Plato's Republic

All Platonic philosophy should be interpreted in light of the Theory of Ideas. Thus, the Republic (the dialogue to which this text belongs) is a political dialogue but must be interpreted along the lines of the Theory of Ideas. It seeks to establish the ideal government. For Plato, the ideal state would be one governed rightly: the ruler of the Republic should be aware of true reality, which is the realm of ideas. We will only have a just, well-organized state if its leader is not an ignoramus but a sage or philosopher who has transcended the physical world and has penetrated into the true reality of ideas.