Red Gabriel C.

Belcina Pol Sci 71

The Republic by Plato

The Republic is one of Plato’s greatest and most popular, yet longest written book this is
said to be attributed by the teachings of Socrates. This is also considered to be the first book on
political science. The republic also uses the Platonic method to reason through ideas on justice.
In the book, a group decides to create an imaginary city to define what justice looks like. The
city is divided into classes: the Rulers who have an understanding of what is right and wrong, the
Guardians who protect the city and care for its people, and the Producers who provided goods
and services for the people. Justice is one of the main topics which is discussed in the book. It is
given several definitions, as well. Thus, the book may be seen as a kind of debate.

The book explains the primary notion of societal justice and then furtherly discusses the
perspective on individual justice. In books I,II,III, and IV, Plato identifies social justice as
harmony in a structured political body. He states that an ideal society consists of three main
classes of people– producers, which are the craftsmen, farmers, artisans, etc., auxiliaries which
are the military men or warriors, and the guardians which are the rulers. He explains that a
society is just when relations between these three classes are right and in harmony. Each group
must perform their appropriate function, and each must be in the right position of power in
relation to the others. This says that, Rulers must rule and create laws which are beneficial to
their society, the auxiliaries must implement the laws and uphold the rulers’ convictions, while
the producers must limit themselves to exercising whatever skills nature granted them. Plato
explains in the book that justice is a principle of specialization; each person must fulfill his role
in the society and not meddle to other people’s business. Plato stretched the idea that education
of the guardians is central in his discussion of the ideal state.

In the conclusion of the fourth book, Plato explains that individual justice mirrors
political justice. He justifies that there is a three-part structure of every individuals soul which
can be aligned to the three classes of a society. There is the rational part of the soul which seeks
the truth; the spirited part of the soul which is responsible for our desire to acclaim honor and is
responsible for our feelings of anger and indignation; and lastly the appetitive part of the soul
which is hungry for materials things but most especially money. To be straightforward, a just
individual’s soul fulfills the desires of the rational part, much as in the just society the entire
community aims at fulfilling whatever the rulers will.

Plato ends The Republic on a surprising note. Having defined justice and established it as
the greatest good, he banishes poets from his city. Poets, he claims, appeal to the basest part of
the soul by imitating unjust inclinations. By encouraging us to indulge ignoble emotions in
sympathy with the characters we hear about, poetry encourages us to indulge these emotions in
life. Poetry, in sum, makes us unjust. In closing, Plato relates the myth of Er, which describes the
trajectory of a soul after death. Just souls are rewarded for one thousand years, while unjust ones
are punished for the same amount of time. Each soul then must choose its next life.

Plato plays an essential role in giving the importance of equality. It is known that Greece
was a strict patriarchal society with no political or property rights for women. However, in
Plato’s outline of what an ideal Republic is, he describes a political system in which women and
men may serve the same roles as guardians and rulers.

In my opinion, Plato created an essential piece of literature. It helped the modern world
create a more equal society since Plato tackled on striking aspects such as the role of women in
an ideal state. It is essential because we should give women the credit and rights that they
deserve since giving them equal opportunities would create a more harmonious and efficient
society. Empowering women also means creating a more efficient and successful society.