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Plato’s Concept of ideal state

Western Political Thought (Jamia Millia Islamia)

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Plato’s Concept of ideal state

Plato was influenced greatly by Socrates' dictum that "virtue is knowledge." Only
wise people, he believed, should rule. As a result, he devises a plan for an ideal
state in which only a select few are permitted to rule after extensive training. It
may be unpractical in the sense that there is no link between various elements of
an ideal state and the vast majority of people outside of politics. Plato, on the
other hand, sees himself as defining the universal nature that every state
possesses to some extent. "A state, I said, arises out of the needs of mankind," he
quotes. "No one is self-sufficient, but we all have many wants; can any other
origin of a state be imagined?" Individuals with numerous desires require a large
number of acquaintances to fulfil them. The state was formed when these
associates gathered in one place. The medium through which one receives and
gives to others is called exchange. Individuals can band together to form a state
using it. The concept of necessity was also used to create the state. Workers,
farmers, builders, and weavers all contribute to the context's goal by providing
food, shelter, and clothing. As a result, we'll need a group of people who are
linked by a strange bond. What is the bond that binds people together in a state?
It is the mutual economic dependence that results from an individual's limited
capacity to meet his own needs with natural diversity while also meeting the
needs of others. Plato attempted to create a good society based on justice. The
state is the only way to achieve the good. The institution of society is a natural
one. Man is primarily a social and political creature. The state exists for the
purpose of securing a good life. The goal of a good society is not freedom or
economic prosperity, but justice, as Plato observed. Justice must be observed in a
true state. The state does not determine what constitutes justice. Justice is a
subject of study. As a result, the state must be led by a philosopher. Plato
advanced the idea in Politicus that the perfect ruler's judgement is superior to any
written law. He claimed that the perfect ruler, not laws, could bring about an
ideal state. In platonic republic, the ideal state describes that all one needs to do
is live a happy life and ignore the rest. He looked at the just state in three stages,
including---
i. The guardians- leaders, noble class
ii. The auxiliaries- the military class
iii. The artisans- the working class

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The guardians- The state's guardians or leaders must be philosophers because

they are responsible for organising the state's life, determining educational
principles, and allocating various tasks within the state to its various members.
As a result, they must be aware of what is truly true and good. The primary
responsibility of public authorities is to protect citizens' morality to the extent
that it can be preserved. The state's leader will be chosen from the guardian class.
They must be the best of the guardian class, intelligent, powerful, and solely
concerned with the welfare of the state. The state's interests must be aligned with
their own. As a result, those chosen must be monitored throughout their
childhood and adolescence. Those who have always done what is best for the
state and have never strayed from this path will be chosen as rulers.
The auxiliaries- They are devoted exclusively to the conduct of war. Members
of this class must be courageous and intellectually gifted. They must be
philosophic; for they must know who are the true enemies of the state and must
be very well educated.
The artisans- Weavers, farmers, artisans, musicians, poets, tutors, cooks,
shoemakers, carpenters, nurses, smiths, and so forth are among them.
However, in his most famous work, "the Republic," Plato discusses the theory of
an ideal state, including how to construct an ideal commonwealth, who should
rule the ideal state, and how to achieve justice in the ideal state. Plato believes
that the state is a better place to discuss an individual's morality because
everything is easier to see in the large than in the small. The elements that make
up a city correspond to the elements that make up a person's soul. There isn't a
separate morality for the individual and the state. Every state is divided into three
sections, each of which is divided into three classes. The elements that make up
the human soul are as follows: –
1. Bodily appetite
2. Spirited element
3. Reason
There are three classes: producing, military, and ruling. The political institution
was established in order to meet the people's various challenges. There was only
one class at first, the producing class, followed by the guardian and ruling
classes. The producer class in a state will be made up of people whose bodily
appetites are dominant and who live for money. Farmers, blacksmiths, fisherman,
carpenters, shoemakers, weavers, labourers, merchants, retailers, and bankers
make up the producer class. The life of the producer class is far less difficult than

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that of the rulers or guardians. The producer class's life is structured around home
and property, family and children, work, rest, and recreation. Producers are, by
definition, wealthy. The military class will be made up of men who have a strong
spirited side to them and strive for victory in hostile and courageous acts.
Members of the ruling class will be drawn from those who value reason above all
else and live only for the truth. A state should be governed by a group of the most
rational people. Each of the three classes would, in an ideal state, perform a vital
function on behalf of the state's organic totality. In an ideal state, the ruling class
possesses natural intellectual capacity. Women and men alike believe that an
ideal state will be led by someone who is well-educated, has a passion for truth,
and has attained the highest wisdom of knowledge of the good. The philosopher
king is the ruler of the ideal state. The military and ruling classes are both
prohibited from owning private property or money. They must live in barracks as
men and women, with the same meals and sleeping quarters as soldiers. The
producers will provide them with food, clothing, and equipment.

Nature of the state-

Plato associates the intellect with the guardians, the spirit of emotions with the
auxiliaries, and the bodily appetites with the producers in the nature of the state.
As a result, a person is brave if his or her spirit is brave, and a person is wise if
his or her intellect is wise. Temperance is achieved when the intellect rules over
the emotions, and the emotions, particularly the intellect, rule over the bodily
appetites. When the bodily appetites and emotions are not only ruled over by the
intellect, but do so willingly and without the threat of force, an individual is said
to be just.
A state is made up of people who have a special bond with one another. If we
take a pair of compass and draw a circle on a map of Europe at random, the
circular area will contain a collection of individuals who are related to one
another by geographical proximity, but this collection will not form a state, so
what is the bond that binds individuals in the state? It is a bond of mutual
economic dependence that arises from an individual's limited capacity to meet
his own needs, as well as natural diversity and individual capacity. Plato'ssystem
of division of labour placed a premium on economic institutions and material
needs. In the nature of the state, he interpreted men's virtue. Glaucon described
state in primitive society as a city of swine with no complete model. It is always
in need of another completion, rather than simply multiplying and refining its

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desires. It is compelled to act aggressively because it is unable to meet its own

needs. Aggression can result from a lack of economic self-sufficiency, resulting
in the original state's poor health. However, it is a result and symptom of a
disordered constitution, not of a healthy one.

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