anyone here who have read pLato's "the repubLic"?

Question

is it true that pLato's ideaL society is aristocracy??

Answer 1

Plato wanted "rule of the wise" aka "philosopher kings" who are supposed to rule for the good of the society, and not for their own pleasure or personal benefit. This is not typically called 'aristocracy' although technically I suppose it could be since aristocracy means "rule of the best" (from the Greek words "aristos" meaning the "best" and "kratein" "to rule") and if the philosopher kings are the "best" then the term should fit, but in actual usage 'aristocracy' actually ends up meaning something more like "rule of the elite" or "rule of the wealthy" (which should technically be called 'plutocracy'). Another term that could work might be 'meritocracy' which means "rule by those who most deserve to rule" (and it typically implies passing tests, etc., to continually prove that you deserve to rule) but this would be rather vague since it would depend on who you think deserved to rule, and what sorts of tests they should take to prove their worthiness. Oddly enough I don't know of a one-word term for "rule of the wise", but given that 'sophia' is wisdom, I suppose it should be called something like "sophiocracy". I did a search on sophiocracy and found this Wikipedia reference: "Plato writes his book, Sophiocracy, which reflects his plans for organizing into a government divided into 3 classes: philosopher-statesmen, militarists, and workers." (But in general I don't see 'sophiocracy' used as an actual term.)

Answer 2

Aristocracy, maybe. But I think you'd almost have to create your own type of government. But yes, basically it would be.

Answer 3

Yes. He advocated a three tiered society with thinkers on top, warriors to defend it, and the common laborers on the bottom to take care of everything else. Aristocratic nobles would be the rulers.

What's up with your "L" key?