Republic 3 (412b-417b)

The Lifestyle of the Guardians I

 

Contents:

 

Division of the Polis  (412b-417b)

  • Having completed his discussion of the education of the guardians, Plato now turns to the question of who will rule and be ruled in his polis.  His argument can be summed up as follows:

    1. The rulers of the city must be the best of the best.  

    2. The guardians are the best members of the society  

    3. Therefore the rulers of Plato's city must be the "most guardianly of the guardians."

    • The guardians are the best members of the society, because they are best able to preserve the city.  Therefore, an elite from among the guardians, argues Plato, ought to be the ones who rule the city (412a-c).

  • The rulers of the city ought to be those who love the city most.  If I love something I so identify with its good, that I would even be willing to sacrifice myself for its sake.  The same is true with the guardians love for the city:  they so completely  identify their own good with the good of the city, that they would be willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure its well being  (412d-e).

    • This demands that we have rulers who are able to retain their convictions even in the face of  corrupting influences (e.g., the desire for pleasure or the fear of pain) .  Those guardians who have been tested, and demonstrate that can maintain their commitment to the city in the face of  corrupting forces, will become the rulers of the society  (413d-414a).

    • Note:  The rulers that Plato wants for his city are those that have stability of character:  they remain unchangeable in the face of dangerous internal and external forces that threaten the good of the city.  This is contrasted with the instability of rulers in a democratic society, such as those in Plato's own Athens (White 104).

The Noble Lie  (414b-415d)

  • Plato now has three classes of citizens in his ideal polis:

  1. Guardians:  rulers of the polis

  2. Auxiliaries:  guardians who remain warriors

  3. Craftsmen:  rest of the citizens

  • But how does he convince the rest of the citizens to accept the leadership of the guardians?  The answer is that the rulers of the city must make them believe a myth—a "noble lie"— about their collective origins.

    • All citizens they will be told from very early on were born of the same mother, the earth.  Some have gold in their souls (the Guardians), some have silver (the auxiliaries) and some have iron or bronze (the craftsmen).  The type of metal that each person is made of determines the role that they will play in the society.

    • This myth is told purely for the sake of those being ruled.  The guardian, of course, know that it is just a myth, but understand the basic principle that underlies it (e.g., the principle of specialization).

    • The point of this myth is to encourage the kind of absolute loyalty to the city that is akin to the kind of loyalty that one feels towards family members.  Plato's aim is to have all of the citizens accept the class structure of the city and to put the good of the city over their own individual good.

  • Plato has once again offended our egalitarian sensibilities by proposing what appears to be little more than a rigid caste system.  The difference between Plato's caste system and that of India, for example, is that his is based not upon wealth or birth, but purely upon ability.  

The Lifestyle of the Guardians  (415d-417b)

  • At the end of Book 3, Plato begins a discussion of the lifestyle of the guardians that will be continued in Book 4.  What we discover is that the guardians will not be allowed to possess private property or to have any dealings with money (416d-417b).  

    • Plato's aim is to prevent the guardians from having divided interests.  Because they won't be allowed to accumulate wealth, they can work for the good of the city alone.  

    • This approach also allows Plato to avoid the corruption and conflicts that can occur when it is possible for rulers to place their own good above the common good.

  • Plato's guardians, therefore, will live in common and share all of their worldly possessions.  

  • In a sense, Plato's communal/communistic approach is similar to that of religious orders during the Middle Ages.  It was believed that if a monk owned nothing of his own, he would be able to devote himself totally to God.  Similarly, Plato believes that guardians will be able to commit themselves totally and completely to the good of the city, because they have no material distractions.

 

    Suggestions for Further Reading

  • Annas, Julia. An Introduction to Plato's Republic.  New York:  Oxford UP, 1981.  [94-108]
  • Benardette, Seth.  Socrates' Second Sailing:  On Plato's Republic.  Chicago: University of Chicago, 1989.  [65-78]
  • Bloom, Allan.  The Republic of Plato.  New York: Harper Collins, 1968.   [353-369]
  • Pappas, Nickolas.  Plato and the Republic.  New York: Routlege, 1995.   [65-72]
  • Rice, Daryl H.   A Guide to Plato's Republic.  New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.  [44-52]
  • Tate, J.  "'Imitation' in Plato's Republic.  Classical Quarterly 26 (1928): 16-23. 
  • White,  Nicholas P.  A Companion to Plato's Republic.  Indianapolis: Hackett, 1979.  [95-105]

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