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Having A Philosopher King In Plato's Republic Book VI

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In Plato’s Republic Book VI, Plato’s offers a lot of insight in how he pictures the perfect state would be ruled. Plato puts forward the view that only through the study of philosophy would allow man to see what was good and just in society. Plato entertains that the only way society can be ruled the best is if a Philosopher King rules the state. By saying this Plato rejects Democracy and even goes as far as saying, “Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy”1. Plato’s arguments for Philosopher Kings and his objections towards democracy are flawed, but do put possible changes to the United State’s current system into perspective. I intend to argue that the concept of having a Philosopher King is implausible if not impossible, and that …show more content…

Then I will focus on the philosopher-kings that Plato deems is the best-fit ruler of the state. After which, I will begin to deconstruct the concept of having a philosopher-king and how it is implausible and flawed. Then I will present a few aspects of the philosophy-king concept and Plato’s vision of a perfect city that could be used to help better the current system of government of the United States. Afterwards, I will address some objections to my argument and issue a response to those …show more content…

This is significant because the current system of government of the United States is wildly different from Athens government. This begs the question; ‘How would Plato respond to the U.S.’s current system of government?’ Before that can be answered, it must be figured out how much different is the U.S. government from the Athenian government. Three main aspects of the Athenian Democracy are as follows: First all male citizens are eligible to participate. Also, and citizen can speak in the Assembly. Finally, public offices are filled by lot, or by the people. In contrast, the U.S. allows all citizens, with a few exceptions, to vote in public elections. And only public officials gather in congress. Similarly the United States does have its public offices filled by the people. Plato rejects the Athenian Democracy because he feels it assigns, “a kind of equality to equals and unequals alike" 2. This means even the unknowledgeable citizens had a say in government. Plato may offer that the United States should limit who could vote based on the progression of their education. For example, Plato would recommend that only college graduates or at the very least high school graduates have the ability to vote. The entire voting population would have some benchmark of knowledge that could select a qualified leader through the election

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