ASSIGNMENT

WESTERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

SUBMITTED TO: MAM REHANA HASHMI
SUBMITTED BY: M.ABDULLAH
ROLL NO: 24
SUMMARY OF THE LAWS:

The Laws is a product of Plato’s old age and may have been published by one of
his pupils. As in the Statesman there is evidence in the Laws of Plato’s declining
literary talent, but in many places the powerful intellect gleams as of old. The
tendency to discursiveness, the concern with religion, the conservatism, and the lack
of artistry all attest to Plato’s advanced age; but the Laws remains a great political
treatise, and is, in some respects at least, more impressive than the Republic.
In the laws Plato proposes that law shall be substituted for the philosopher king.
True, the wise ruler is preferable, and the ideal state would be best if it were a
practical possibility; but it is not. Thus since only the second best state is possible, it
should follow as closely as it can the postulates of the ideal. In the perfect state reason
rules; in the best practicable state law rules. Law and reason are not identical. Some
law is foolish and unwise, but since law generally derives from reason, it is
substantially sound. At any rate law is force that holds man to a sane and predictable
course. Supplemented and reinforced by custom law holds together the vast and
complicated fabric of civilized life. Law therefore, must be sovereign rather than men,
since men are selfish and if they are not restrained by law their pursuit of self interest
will disrupt the community.
Moreover the law must be general rather than particular. Its generality, though a
defect, is better than biased action which would result from an imperfect ruler
practicing free decision .Law must be for the whole people and in the interest of the
stability of society. In the republic the status quo was maintained by the class of
philosopher guardians who used the educational system and communism to that end.
Now it is the law, rigid and difficult to alter, that performs the task.
Plato abandons in the Laws, the principle of division of classes and specialization that
he had embraced in the republic in favor of moderation and self control, which he
hopes will conduce to the desired unity and harmony of the community. What kind of
state will be most likely to develop these necessary qualities in its citizens? The
answer is the mixed constitution, which secures the desired moderation through
through a balance of oligarchy and democratic principles. The powers of the oligarchy
must be restrained by a measure of popular control. The change in approach is
significant and startling one for the Plato. For the first time in his writings he grants
the principle of consent. To be sure, his is an incomplete and grudging admission, but
the monolithic structure of government resting upon a foundation of absolute rule by
able, erected so carefully in the Republic and Statesman, and is now cracked.
In the laws, as in republic Plato’s technique involves the construction of a model
state. This state he proposes, should be located inland and far enough from the sea to
prevent any kind of naval militarism and to discourage commercialism. In his
property arrangements for the laws Plato departs from the principle of republic but
attempts to retain something of their spirit Property other than land is not so
equalized. Although Plato suggests that a universal equality I property might be
desirable, he recognizes that men being what they are it is not practicable.
Nevertheless, the state exercises substantial control over other forms of property.
Plato attempts to combine the institution of private property with comprehensive
regulation and thus produce much the same situation that existed
for his ruling classes under communism in the Republic. The underlying assumption
is the same; preoccupation with property matters is a disruptive influence and must be
coping with one way or another. In the Republic Plato’s solution was the abolition of
property while in the laws he substitutes regulation. All citizens in the mode state of
the laws constitute a kind of ruling class. They draw their living from the land, but
their major interest is government.
In his plan of government Plato seeks the quality of moderation and even as in
his recommendation concerning marriage, attempts to achieve it through a
combination of extremes the opposing governmental forms are the oligarchy and
democracy and the best practicable state will be combination of the two. Plato is
evidently trying to find a balance of wisdom and numbers. That he should make the
effort of change of attitude Plato has experienced since the Republic. In that work it
was assumed that no balance was possible and that the problem must be resolved by
throwing all weight to the side of an intellectual authority. But the fact that Plato in
the laws permits a small measure of democracy should not lead us to assume that he
does so because he has come to believe in the virtue and capacity of the average man.
He advises that ample precautions be taken to prevent the direct exercise of authority
by the ordinary citizens. Plato’s concession results from his acknowledgement of the
fact that the achievement of peace and harmony in the state is difficult if the citizens
are denied some kind of voice in the governing process. Even so, Plato’s plan of
government in the laws is so heavily weighted in favor of the authority of an
oligarchy that it is difficult to distinguish any substantial element of democracy in it.
Plato also tries to establish the illusion of democracy. The illusion itself tends to
disappear in the laws with Plato’s introduction of the nocturnal council. This unusual
body consists of the most important state officials including the ten oldest guardians
of the law, the high ranking minister of education and number of priests. Plato ends
up with the semi-theocracy, a government at least partially composed of priest who
has a principal duty of maintaining religious conformity along with that of supervising
state affairs.