The Republic

[Sagwort 833]

The Republic

By Dr. Ambros, Wiz.D.

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The Virtuous State

There exists a perfected nation, a city which functions as though it were the a finely tuned engine assembled for the sole purpose of meeting the needs of its residents.  However, before one might examine the perfect state, they must first examine the perfect man, one who embodies the perfect state in all of its functions and humors.  Thus, the perfected man is virtuous, emanating the four cardinal excellences of wisdom, courage, temperance and justice.

 

 

First, we examine wisdom.  It is the trait of the scholar and the academic.  He who studies logic, rhetoric, and dialectic so that they may both come to thorough conclusions and communicate said conclusions without falsehood.

 

Second, we examine courage.  It is the trait of the warrior.  Those who study gymnastics and athletics so they might hone the full potential of the mortal form.  From this anatomical tuning, they develop passion.  Granted, untamed passion is prone to violence and fruitless aggression.  Nae, those who have courage must also study poetry, art, and music so tame their passion.  Granted, he who study only poetry, art and music will be equally flawed as they are prone to effeteness and fragility.  It is when athletics and art are combined does one find courage.

 

Third, we examine temperance.  Temperance is not found in one individual, but all individuals.  It is the virtue of controlling one’s desires, determining what is necessary and what is indulgent.  The temperate individual wastes not, and wants little.

 

Finally, we examine justice.  There are those who will claim justice is receiving and giving what one is due, whether it be praise or punishment.  This is a falsehood.  While it is true that justice deals in what is owed, if one does their job then they are just and, as a result, give to those what they owe.

 

We may then compare the virtuous man a virtuous state.  Much like the man, the virtuous state is one which embodies wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.  Where are these virtues found then?  Let us first explore what a city requires to function.  For certain a city or state is in need of workers, those who will plow the fields and mine stones.  However, the city also requires artisans to transform these raw goods into consumable and profitable materials.  We shall call this class of people the workers.  Now, with all of these goods, for certain foreign nations and states will desire these goods and the land from which they are stripped.  It is necessary, then, that the city has guardians to protect both the workers and the goods they produce.  Finally, there must be those who are knowledgeable enough to lead these guardians and we shall call these the leaders of our fair state.

 

First, we examine the working class.  The working class have no need of courage or wisdom, but must still show temperance and justice.  Thus, they alone may own wealth and property within the state, trading amongst each other.  No worker should do the job of another, however.  Bookbinders should not build houses, and farmers should not bake bread.  As a result, all people of the state are necessary and no task is left undone.

 

Secondly, we examine the guardian class.  It is of great importance that they are raised with particular temperaments, molded from birth.  They must, first and foremost, serve as beacons of courage so their education must include both the athletics and the arts.  One to produce passion, and one to tame it.  These guardians should hold no property or wealth of their own and live communally.  For if they are given wealth and property, then they will be tempted to use their power over the working class to obtain said wealth.  Thus, the guardian should also be banned from practicing any craft beyond guardianship.  The guardian should not farm, or mine, or build houses.  Nae, all mental and physical capacities should be spent on protection of the city, for the lungs will do no good at the job of the heart.  In this way, they are giving what is owed to the city, and in return receive what they owe from the city, this is the essence of justice.  Thus, they will also not be able to produce their own wealth and must rely solely on the citizenry for their upkeep.  As a result, the guardians will practice temperance to the highest degree.  The workers will give the guardians yearly rations of food.  Enough such the the guardians do not become malnourished, but little enough such that the guardians do not grow lethargic and indulgent.  Consider the guardians shall not own property, they will be given communal living spaces by the state, and will not be given private storage space since they shall have nothing to store there.

 

An assessment of the leader class will come next.  They are much like the warriors, unable to hold property or wealth of their own and exist to serve the state and its citizens.  However, not only will they have the courage of the guardian and the temperance of the entirety, but they will have wisdom necessary to lead.  They will be trained in rhetoric, dialectic, and logic, thus, they will be philosopher kings and lead the state on a basis of wisdom and truth.  Granted, not all truth is fruitful, thus the leaders will be granted the right to lie to the citizenry if they see fit, and they, in their wisdom, will know when it is wise to lie.  The citizens, however, must never lie and such an offence will be punished.  The role of a leader is a profession, a duty and a job.  What good would it do for a patient to lie to their doctor?  How may a leader help their citizens if they are lied to?

 

 

There comes a pressing question plaguing our virtuous state: who shall be of the class of leaders, guardians and workers?  This is not a government of birth-right, but rather merit.  From birth, all children should be separated from their parents so that their parents temperaments due not tarnish the pure ivory of the youthful mind.  Then, all of these children will undergo the same form of education.  As the children age, certain humors will arise and the children will discover what they are best suited for.  First, the children who lack courage and wisdom will be given to the class of workers.  The remaining children will begin their training to become guardians, first learning the arts and then the athletics.  Many of these children will continue on to become guardians, but some will show particular fortitude and wisdom.  These children will be removed and undergo extensive training.  They will be tempted with indulgences and power.  Should they resist, they will be deemed suitable for the noble class of leaders where they will hone their wisdom, learning logic, dialectics and rhetoric.  Note, however, that the arts of dialectic and rhetoric will only begin when the young leader is of a mature age.  As those of arrogant youth will use these arts as a form of academic competition, arguing with each other to claim intellectual victories for its own sake and not truth or wisdom.  This philosophical training will continue until they are at the age of thirty accompanied by a few years of service as a guardian.  From here, they will be allowed to lead the guardians into battle, practicing their skills as both leaders and lanterns of wisdom.  After twenty years of guardian leadership, at the age of fifty, they will be wise enough to finally lead the city.

 

It is paramount that the classes do not cross.  Leaders and guardians must never take up a craft and workers must never serve as guardians or leaders as they have not the virtues suited for it.  The virtuous city is like a body, and organs have specific duties and would fail at the duties of other organs.

 

This, then, is the virtuous state, one which embodies temperance through its casting out of overindulgent and rich materials.  For if the state is “rich” and overindulgent, it will trade in its guardians for armies and raiders as it will not have the materials necessary to sate the desires of the extravagant citizenry.  The city will embody courage through these guardians, and embody wisdom through its leaders.  Finally, the state will embody justice by not allowing its citizens to do the job of others as justice is giving what is owed and receiving what is owed in return.

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The Five Governments

Now that we have evaluated the virtuous state, we must consider its contrarian counterpart and that which lies between.  For the sake of candor, the complex deluge that is political structures has been distilled into five foundational regimes, with the virtuous state being among them.  If they lie upon a spectrum, the virtuous state rests at the top.  Each form of government loses a virtue, granted, this is not to say that that which lies directly beneath the virtuous state is any better than that which lies several levels beneath.  A state which boasts wisdom, temperance, courage and justice is a state of equilibrium, a healthy body leads to a productive lifestyle.  However, like the four humors, should they come out of balance sickness will inevitably follow.

 

Timocracy

The timocracy is a war-loving state.  A nation which has lost its wise leaders and, in turn, its loves of wisdom.  All that remains is justice, temperance and courage.  Without the sober-minded leaders, the courageous and passionate will come to power.  The timocratic state holds honor and victory above all else, a state deeply entrenched in tradition.  The timocratic state is the result of poor education of future leaders, and thus, the victorious and charismatic military-men win over the hearts of the citizens.  Of course, justice and temperance will still find a home in the timocracy.  Food will be directed towards the military, men who have become not guardians and keepers of peace, but soldiers and raiders.

 

 

The timocratic individual is, as stated earlier, an individual who holds honor and victory to the highest regard, the timocratic academic will argue for the sake of conflict, not for the sake of extracting truths and knowledge.

 

Oligarchy

A warring state, when successful, will inevitably come upon a great deal of land, a great deal of resources, and thus, a great deal of riches.  When this occurs the leaders and soldiers of the state will no longer hold to the values of courage and justice, but begin to acquire property and wealth.  They will hoard such things for themselves and forget the old and honorable traditions of war.  When the timocratic state has forgotten this, and the leaders of the state are selected not upon military prestige, but rather, physical property, they will convert into an oligarchy.  The oligarchic state is a machine of profit, the military becomes a tool of profit, and the citizens become laborers of profit.  More and more will the rich become bloated with their wealth, and the poor will grow sickly in their labor.  However, the oligarchic state is not a state of gluttons, nae, the state still embodies temperance.  The oligarchs epitomize efficiency, they have worked hard to acquire their wealth, whether through war or commerce.  They are fully aware of the benefits of hard work, and the botherations of waste.  They live simply, but hoard their wealth as personal satisfactions opposed to the benefit of the state.

 

The oligarchic individual is a falsely modest and sober-minded one.  In public, they will carry themselves with all amounts of politeness and agreeableness as not to lose their status.  They will live simply and only act upon the most necessary of urges, as they are quite conservative with their wealth.  However, they are hardworking individuals, capable of great feats if entirely selfish.  The oligarchic is akin to the son of a military hero who has fallen to poverty in civilized society.  The son, disdainful of his father’s blind service to military efforts for no other reason than praise, will mark his own way, preferring to remain in the confines of the society, laboring, and growing rich.

 

Democracy

As the chasm between the rich and the poor within the oligarchy grows ever wider, the poor will begin to despise the rich for the wealth they hoard.  The poor then, being greater in number, will inevitably overthrow, exile, and execute their oligarch leaders and place themselves in their place.  The government will be ruled by many and all, opposed to the affluent few.  With the wealthy individual leaving the state, so too does the remaining virtue of temperance.  The democratic state, while being exceptionally diverse with the alluring promises of freedom, is naught but anarchy disguised as “liberty”.  The masses have remained uneducated since they lost their love of wisdom and become lazy and indulgent with their loss temperance.  They will not have the sober-mindedness of the oligarchs, and will act upon their urges without question, considering all desires, necessary or not, to be necessities.  Put simply, their will be equality for equals and unequals alike.  The democracy, left unchecked, will transform into something akin to a madhouse of lazy, uneducated citizens acting upon temporal urges and floundering in their ignorance.

 

 

The few “leaders” within the democracy, mayhaps representatives or bureaucrats, will be forced to appease the masses opposed to benefit the state as a whole.  The citizens hold all power, and thus, all leaders and government officials must remain on acceptable terms with these citizens to maintain their status.  The leaders will be led by the citizens.  The citizens, in their willful ignorance, will think little of the state, of course.  All of their decisions will be based upon individual desires, and the leaders will be forced to satisfy them.  It is as if a child told their parents how to raise them, or if a patient told their doctor what they thought the most effective treatment for their ailment was.  Leadership is a profession, and should be carried out only by those who have been educated in the fine art.

 

The great peculiarity of democracy is its fluidity, as it sits seemingly in the middle of this civic spectrum, capable of teetering towards oligarchy or tyranny.  This proves to be far more ruining in times of haste.  With so many hands upon the proverbial "scepter of power", it will be pulled in many a direction, and few decisions will be made.  Policies will remain in the doldrums of debate and consideration, and the government will grow stale and frozen in argumentation.

 

 

The democratic individual is like the rebellious youth of a wealthy entrepreneurial father.  The father is a self made individual who rose from the droves of society via his own weathered hands.  The child, who has grown weary of their father’s frugalness, will turn to frivolous indulgences, having no worldly knowledge and mistake their narrow opinions as experience.  Of course, with the freedoms of democracy there will be a select few who rise above, perhaps still holding the values of the old oligarchy.  They will take advantage of the collective ignorance and indulgence of the masses to become excessively wealthy.  They will form the new affluent class within the democracy.  The indulgent and more ignorant general populace, of course, will grow disdainful of this new upper class as it will remind them of the old oligarchy.

 

Tyranny

With the freedoms of democracy will come deviants, individuals who will intentionally distance themselves from the chaos and disorder of the democratic society.  Self-educated academics, scholars, advocates and philosophers who will fancy themselves as “rogues” who are above the common “ignorant” citizen despite their idle laziness and extravagant, alluring, and romantic lives.  These individuals are emphatic and will spew their beliefs and theories upon the masses, those particularly charismatic or influential individuals will grow themselves a following.  The ignorant citizens will consider them “refreshing”, a beacon of escape from the bustle of democracy.  Some of these deviants will, of course, become ever more popular and serve as the people’s hero, organizing rallies and potentially violent acts against the shameful state they were raised in.  They will acquire a desire to push against the state and transform it, assembling their followers behind them, giving promises of redistributed wealth as they believe the democratic state to be biased despite its uncaring anarchy.  Finally, the individual will overthrow the democratic state, placing themselves sole executive and assemble a personal guard force as they, in their self-educated wisdom, believe their enlightened philosophies and theories to be the one true path to a new and prosperous state.  Of course, the new leader has not the wisdom, or courage, or temperance of their predecessors  (as is the way with democracy) and will ultimately fail to lead the state.  The state will grow poor, as the leader attempts to do away the infrastructural economy for communal wealth, and the masses will become little more than slaves.  To distract their now dissatisfied citizenry, the leader will be forced wage war, brandishing nationalistic dribble and simultaneously stimulating the economy which will function solely on the needs of the military.

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To conclude, none of the above faculties of government are sustainable, and only the state which holds all four virtues to the highest esteem will prove fruitful for centuries following, a state ruled by philosopher kings, protected by guardians raised from birth, and lived in by citizenry of temperance.

 

[[This is just an interpretation/ summary of Plato’s Republic]]

[Dreek 1633]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

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