Second Long Essay The ideal city PDF

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Emeka Onwumere University of Manitoba PHIL 2650 Professor Dimitrios Dentsoras 23rd December, 2020

The Ideal City Introduction: Plato's Republic discusses the theme of justice initiated by Cephalus for peaceful coexistence and tranquility. The discussion between Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus, Thrasymachus, Glaucon, and Adeimantus is based on determining the benefits of justice in society and the impact of injustice where justice does not prevail. Socrates wanted to illustrate a full account of justice's nature for his friends to understand what justice is. Therefore, Socrates uses the city model in his illustration that will determine the whole character of justice. Socrates suggested starting by discerning the nature of a city's justice and injustice before illustrating how they are exhibited in an individual. The city has a larger quantity of justice than an individual. Socrates starts by describing an ideal city's justice before illustrating that of an individual because people can see big things first before seeing small ones. In the course of his explanation, Socrates identifies and explains three cardinal virtues or characteristics of wisdom, courage, and temperance that must exist in a city to achieve justice. Similarly, the city's classes should possess three principles of spirited, rational, and appetitive parallel to those in the individual's soul. Additionally, Socrates finds that the same three virtues

2 must be inherent in the people to have justice. Therefore, the ideal city discussed in the Plato’s Republic is not a real city. The Just City is a city in a speech whose justice is parallel to an individual's justice. The justice results from the three classes of people and the individual doing what is appropriate for them. An aristocracy is a form of a political structure whose leaders are drawn from society's elite classes. The state of government assumes that only individuals with the highest intellectual and moral standards would lead. Since the ideal city was supposed to be small with no innovation, expansion, and highly educated public, aristocracy could have worked in the city but for a short period. The form of government is less susceptible to military conflicts because it has a central chain of command. Additionally, the aristocracy government system distributes power between the council members or philosophers, thus preventing a single dictator's rise in kings' case. The fewer number of aristocracy leaders would have reduced political disagreements; therefore, the city would have quality and efficient leadership. According to Socrates, aristocracy, which is the best rulers' government, is the ideal political regime for the city in speech. It is a regime in which philosophers or philosopher-kings are the rulers and lawmakers. According to Socrates, philosophers are the best leaders because they love learning what reveals the actual existence or being of things. Besides, the leaders hate lies and falsehood, which brings about injustice. Additionally, they are more concerned with the body's soul pleasures and pleasures, including food, sex, drinks, and luxuries. Moreover, philosophers are intelligent, quick learners, and courageous. Accordingly, these are the qualities the rulers of the city in speech should have. On the other hand, the kings can acquire philosophical natures using the right laws and training.

3 Moreover, philosophers have their gaze fixed at the form of the good. Therefore, the political implication is that the city needs wise rulers who have seen the forms of the good for them to govern properly. Accordingly, the future leaders should be turned towards the forms of the good, like the prisoner in the cave who was freed to see the sunlight so that he can help others see the sunlight. Therefore, when Socrates advocates the city's rule by the aristocracy, it is for good for the city because the philosophers have seen the forms of the good, unlike the craftsmen, military personnel, and professionals. According to Socrates (520c), philosophers have seen the truth about fine, just, and good things. The philosophers have known the forms of good, and knowing the forms helps understand what is good for the city. Accordingly, the city will be governed in a justly and orderly manner, not like most cities governed by those who struggle against one another and fight for shadows to rule. According to Plato, the philosophers know what is best for society and can make the best and long-standing laws. In Plato's ideal city, the three classes of people should strictly be involved in what they are naturally adapted for without meddling in other people's careers, which is not realistic in the real world. Individuals would like to change their career in the course of their lives as they might realize they made the wrong choices earlier. Because of the city's regulation of one man one task always, individuals will have no rights of vocational choice. Secondly, the guardian class is denied the right to own property in Plato's Just state, a right everyone should have. Inevitably, the denial to own property by the warriors would bring discontent and chaos in the city. On the other hand, Plato himself admits that it is hard to realize the ideal city, and it can only be achieved when the kings become philosophers or philosophers rule the city. Further, Plato's city is small, with a limited expansion, which is why the philosophical leaders can manage to govern it.

4 Moreover, the city would have no innovation and civil liberties as the youth cannot listen to their chosen music. Similarly, the noble lie is for keeping people in the three classes by telling them that is how the gods wanted them to be. Additionally, telling individuals to stick to one occupation because they were created with souls of gold, silver, and bronze, according to the three city's classes, would be impossible. The higher standards of education the public would have cannot tolerate such a simple, noble lie. Since Plato advocates for equal rights for both men and women to rule, the classes of producers and craftsmen would like to lead in the state. Plato's city is unrealistic and unachievable because only angles are just without injustices. It is impossible to expect that when all citizens are educated in the city, lawyers will only be concerned with making educational laws because noble people will avoid committing conventional crimes. Cities are founded when people cannot supply all they need by themselves, and thus, they have to exchange for goods and services. Cities are formed to enable individuals to obtain what they do not have from others. Most people will move to cities to get jobs to get money while employers require the employees' services. The employees provide labor in industries in the production of goods while, in turn, they receive wages for their efforts. Accordingly, individuals move to cities to satisfy their needs, such as clothing, food, and shelter. As a result, the towns require people who specialize in certain activities, including farming, teaching, advocates, and legislatures, to provide essential services according to individuals' needs. Specialization is vital in a city for efficiency because one person cannot provide all the services. Accordingly, when the three classes of individuals in a city specialize in their specific activities, the city will have harmony and justice. Division of labor is required to distribute the jobs in the city according to each person's natural capabilities because individuals have

5 diversities of nature and adapted to different occupations (370ab). Accordingly, individuals should be assigned professions under the rule of one-person one craft ranging from the rulers, auxiliaries, and producers. The city's unity is maintained through the virtue of justice, which is sticking to what one is naturally fit for. The different workers should not perform the job in which they are unfitted and take the implements or others' duties (433b -434b). Lawyers in the ideal city should be more concerned with making educational laws for educating the people well, be honorable, and avoid conventional crimes. The city must have the cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justness. After achieving justice in the city, the people living in it can be just too. It is assumed that the cause of justice in the city is parallel to justice in individuals. As the city has the virtues of wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice, the individual is expected to reciprocate the same virtues; thus, the just man will like the Just city (435a). The three classes of people in the state will achieve justice by specializing in their own business while having the virtues of temperance, knowledge, justice, and courage. On the individual's side, we assume they will have the same principles in their souls as those found in the city because they are influenced in the same way (435b). The principles found in the city's three classes of people are also found in the individual's soul. People have desires, which form certain principles in the soul. The principles include the rational principle, which deals with reasoning, the appetitive principle, which is responsible for sundry pleasures and satisfactions, and the spirited principle, which results in the feeling of anger and shame. The spirited principle lies between rational desire and the appetitive principle. In noble people such as the philosophers, the spirited principle rises to restore justice when injustice is committed and remains quiet when justice prevails. However, the rational principle, which cares

6 for the whole soul, should rule over the passionate and spirited principles in individuals. Accordingly, the principles that exist in the just city also exist in the individual (441c). Similarly, the individual should have the virtues of wisdom, temperance, courage, and just as exhibited in the city. Lastly, individual needs to mind their own business in the areas of work they are fitted for as each class in the city did their job. The city model is vital because its virtues are replicating the virtues of an individual. The rational principle is associated with wisdom, while the spirited part is linked with courage. On the other hand, temperance is associated with appetitive, rational, and spirited. Plato believes aristocracy is the best regime for the city depending on that the laid principles such as the king philosophers, the education of all the citizens, the division of labor, and the noble lie would work effectively. Additionally, Plato gives conditions that the city should be small; thus, governing through the few privileged class would be possible in the city. Moreover, Plato's city is more imaginary than a realistic one because he assumes the city will not have conventional crimes and injustices. He believed that all the classes would stick to their own business, the city cardinal virtues will be reflected in individuals, and the public will be educated to the extent that noble citizens will not commit crimes. In my view, the aristocracy's political structure would work for a short time, then factions will arise from the auxiliaries and producers because the high education given to the public will enlighten them to disapprove the noble lie. According to Plato's principle of labor division, individuals should work in jobs they are naturally fit, thus meddling in other people's jobs would bring disorder and injustice in the city. The natural diversities embedded in different people shows that certain people can rule better than others based on merit and not class or ancestry. In aristocracy government, the first leaders could be good performers while their subsequent generations might not. The hereditary power

7 transition in aristocracy sidelines performance merits because there is no guaranteed success of best leadership qualities from parents heirs. Accordingly, the sons of reputable leaders may not be talented to rule. The ability to rule is a natural capability that an individual is born with, and that is why some individuals can govern better than others can. However, in the educational world, everyone can learn and practice governance skills and be perfect in leadership. In the ideal city case, Plato argued that the kings could rule like philosophers through the availability of the right laws and training. Additionally, the experience can lead an individual to become a better ruler. Therefore, the skill of ruling is a natural talent that is inherent in individuals. However, through education and training, the skill can become better, and those who do not have it can learn and practice it. According to the government's aristocracy system, the elite class is best suited to rule while the rest should be subjects. According to life in Plato's ideal city, individuals should stick to their roles adapted to maintain justice in the city. In aristocratic government, the selected few with the highest moral and intellectual standards decide for the masses. However, when the ruling few decide to serve their interests instead of the interests of the public and common good for the city, the other classes are excluded from governance matters. Consequently, they will demand inclusion and consultation in issues of governance concerning their lives. Moreover, it is challenging to distinguish democratic government as a form of aristocracy because legislatures and executives make political decisions for the rest. The best type of leadership is a representative democracy that allows nationwide representation of the people's views in decision-making. Plato's aristocracy was best for the city because leaders who had the good interests of the city can do what is best for the ideal city without public opinion. Secondly, aristocracy serves as

8 a reservoir of leadership experience and transmits wisdom to the present and future leading generation. Additionally, aristocracy emphasizes quality leadership because its leaders have intellectual superiority, and their less number increases the efficiency to govern with low chances of political deadlocks and disagreements. On the other hand, a few privileged classes' rule may not reflect the interests and wishes of the auxiliaries and producers as they are not involved in matters of leadership. Moreover, aristocratic leaders are not accountable for their actions because there are no people to question their wrong deeds. Aristocracy leadership controls the government in the hands of the nobles and their families, who may pass unjust laws and deny the other classes of the city their civil liberties like the guardians who are not allowed to own property in the ideal city. Moreover, some aristocratic governments may work selfishly for the leader's interests by maintaining an economic divide between the poor and the rich while pressing the public to establish their status. Additionally, the aristocratic leadership system does not provide room for the public's talented members to rise into power. Consequently, the ruling elite may hold elections or appoint relatives to restrict their ability within their circle.

Conclusion According to the noble lies, Plato's aristocracy political organization structure aimed at bringing justice in the ideal city where the rulers are made of a gold mixture would rule for the good of the city and not for their interests. The leadership was meant to preserve and transmit the qualities of wisdom and experiences for the current and future generations. The noble lie would make the other classes in the city believe they are naturally fit for what was determined by the gods and accept the philosophers' rule or philosopher-kings. However, Plato noted that in the

9 end, the leadership might not find people with the right qualities to succeed them; thus, factions would arise in the city, especially from the warriors who would demand money. However, aristocratic leadership cannot maintain justice, where the leaders do not reflect the public's interests and wishes. Moreover, subsequent leaders may not practice the virtues of wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice; thus, injustice would take over the city. The city's lack of virtues would derail the principles rational in the souls, which control appetitive, spirited principle, and injustice will prevail....