An Examination of the Ideal State of Plato's "Republic", with Special Reference to Individual Liberty

Abstract

Over two thousand years ago Plato outlined for posterity the constitution of an Ideal State. His thoughts are contained in a medium sized book; yet such was his genius that the principles he put forward have challenged the minds of men throughout the centuries and the "Republic", like the "Bible" has become one of the great sources of our Western Tradition. In the twentieth century it remains a set book in at least three Departments of our University Colleges - Philosophy, Education, and Political Science - and it continues to be admired, discussed and criticised by student and scholar alike. "It has always been correct to praise Plato, but not to understand him", wrote Bertrand Russell in his "History of Western Philosophy," but over the last twenty-five to thirty years a decided reaction against this attitude has taken place. In spite of this, Plato's genius remains supreme and the "Republic" measures the calibre of its critics and even draws them back for further battle. Thus Crossman says, "I still find the Republic the greatest book on political philosophy which I have read. The more I read it, the more I hate it: and yet I cannot help returning to it time after time." The "Republic" was Plato's first conception of an Ideal State - and it has remained the most influential. The "Laws," written late in life, lacks the charm and the "punch" of the earlier work and it is to the "Republic" that men turn - in admiration or hate - as the expression of Plato's genius.