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Omar Diaz

Don Kaiper

Political Philosophy 33

3/1/11

Plato’s 3 Regimes

1. The Republic (politeia)

Type: Society is ruled by Philosopher Kings skilled in the art of wisdom. Society will be divided

into three separate classes; rulers (philosopher kings), warriors, and producers (farmers). The

rulers as well as the warriors will have to live in communism and not be allowed to possess any

personal property or family so that they do not become selfish. Every class will have a specific

purpose and the members of each class will attend to their purpose without meddling in the

affairs of the other classes. The rulers shall be philosophers who have attained the knowledge

and wisdom required to rule society. The warriors will be the guardians of the state, and watch

over the people with love and care. Farmer producers will take up the majority of the population

and create all products and goods necessary for the people to live in comfort.

Knowledge (Episteme): The good, the just, the true. Political power and philosophical

intelligence must be joined. Philosopher kings rule strictly by virtue of their own superior

wisdom, not constrained to the limits of laws. They must study mathematics in order to prepare

themselves for the study of the dialectic. Candidates are tried and tested for 15 years, from age

thirty-five to fifty. Once they have reached age fifty, all of those who have passed every trial and

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test are allowed to devote the rest of their time to the study of philosophy, all the while

continuing to serve the state.

Prospect: Highly unlikely to ever exist in a society. Plato’s society has been termed a “utopia”,

his idea of the perfect society. Never throughout human history has there ever been a society

which has even come close to the political structure of Plato’s republic. The idea of having three

separate classes, two of which are communist by definition, has been criticized throughout

history and thus never attempted by any society.

Aim (Telos): The good state fully realized with all truths known and all elements in proper

balance, all at peace. Plato hoped that his republic would provide “the good life” for every

member of society independent of class. Since everybody has their own designated purpose and

function, society would be more efficient and functional. People would not have to worry about

other aspects of society being fulfilled properly because every person assigned to any given task

would be the best person for the job, thus allowing society to achieve its full potential in all

areas. Government would not become corrupted due to selfishness, and the people could live

under the full protection from the warriors so that they may focus on producing all the goods for

society to enjoy.

Authority Analysis: A good state requires the wisdom and expertise of a Philosopher yet his

authority must have the consent of the people. Only philosophers are capable of ruling a society

and leading it for the good of the people. Philosophers shall not fall prey to the temptation of

greed or selfishness, and make logical decisions for the good of the people instead of for his own

political gain. Only a few members of a society will ever attain the superior wisdom and

knowledge required to rule, and so those who do must be granted full authority of the state.

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Relation To Noble Lie: Since the majority of the people can’t grasp the knowledge of the

philosopher kings, they must believe that the philosopher kings do in fact possess the knowledge

required in order to rule.

2. The Statesman (politikos)

Type: Society based around an expert ruler who applies the received knowledge of things as

situations require. Statesmanship is an art requiring expert knowledge, those who possess the art

of ruling and those alone should be regarded as rulers, whatever form their rule may take. It does

not matter if they are willing or unwilling, whether they are poor or wealthy, or whether they rule

with or without a code of laws, if one is qualified for the title of statesman than he shall fulfill his

duty.

Knowledge (episteme): Educated in all areas of management skills as well as applied arts and

sciences. The statesman must have a good balance of militaristic adventurism as well as a pacific

nature and find a mean of mixing different natures and classes so as to produce a harmony. He

must be a born leader who analyzes every decision logically so as to make the best choices for

the good of society. The statesman, and only he, shall lead through his own methods without

need to follow any code of laws or restraints so he can be free to rule as he must. Only one, or

very few, in a society will ever reach the knowledge to be qualified as a statesman, but never the

masses. If the masses ever attained the knowledge of the statesman, than the statesman would

then no longer be necessary.

Prospect: This type of society is probable, but only under special conditions. The people must

give consent to be governed by the expert statesman, knowing that he is the best qualified for the

job, and society must be structured and orderly.

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Aim (telos): The well ordered society. Society is prosperous, functional, and able to solve its

problems and meet challenges whenever threatened. Everything shall be well ordered and

structured so the people feel secure and safe. The ruler shall be a complete expert and possess all

the superior skills of a ruler. All obstacles which the society faces shall be met with expertise

decision making and shall be solved.

Authority Analysis: The well ordered society must be governed by a ruler who possesses

supreme management skills and rule with the belief that he can bring order and comfort to the

society through the use of expertise and successful problem solving. Those not qualified nor

intelligent enough to fill the role have no business in a place of authority, there shall be only one

or very few who ever reach the position of ruler.

Relation To Noble Lie: The people must believe that everything is headed in the right direction

and that everything is ordered and fine. They must believe that the experts really possess the

amount of expertise they claim to have and that they are in fact superior in intelligence.

3. The Laws (Nomoi)

Type: Society is ruled by a code, absentee leadership by ways of rules and regulations. There is a

book of laws written by members of society who possess the knowledge necessary to write the

laws. All members of society must comply to the laws and give up certain personal liberties so

that they may live in a structured and equal society. No one member of society is higher than the

law, it applies to everybody as an equal. Decisions won’t be made out of the ruler’s own personal

desires or motivations, for they themselves have to live by this code.

Knowledge (episteme): Writers of the code must be educated in technical skill in crafting laws,

rules, and regulations covering all organizational situations. Laws must be written for the good of

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the people and the functionality of society, without oppressing any one group or class. Self

control must be taken into account when writing the laws.

Prospect: Most probable regime that Plato presented. Nearly every society in the present world

and throughout history has shown some aspect of Plato’s laws integrated into it. Nations have a

set code of laws which the citizens abide by, however nations vary on how strict they enforce the

laws, for laws are useless if they are not enforced. Laws are found in all different forms of

government, from democracy to communism.

Telos (aim): Instead of placing complete authority in the hands of one ruler, the authority is

placed on the laws themselves. Rulers are prone to mistakes and can very well make wrong

decisions, but if decisions are made based on a code then they would be much more effective.

The confusion of rulers brings dysfunction to society, but with laws the people would not have to

solely depend on the decisions of one ruler. The laws will hold order in society and keep the state

moving forward towards progress.

Authority Analysis: The authority is placed on the rule of law itself, and not to only a certain

individual. Law shall be administered by a system of government necessary to carry out justice.

No ruler is above the law nor possesses any more authority than the written code. Law shall be

the precise authority, never based on emotion or opinion, but specifically on the written code.

Relation To The Noble Lie: The people must believe that the written laws are indeed the correct

practices which society should abide by and that the writers of the code are indeed qualified in

knowledge and expertise to be writing the laws. The people cannot doubt the code, because they

will doubt the authority of society itself, and so they must place their full trust in the law.