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Plato's Ideal Polis

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Plato's Ideal Polis
The freedom that is to be cultivated in the citizens of Plato 's ideal polis, and in the polis itself is supposed to be a free and just place. The freedom that Plato describes is the kind of freedom to live within a republic and be able to live in accordance to their abilities. The freedom he describes allows people to do things that, "are apt for the accomplishment of different jobs" meaning that a person is allowed to either transcend the "class" they were born in to or to even be "demoted" from whatever class they were in (379b). The freedom therein lies within each individual of the polis which translates into, we are responsible for the ordering in our souls. The polis is the incompletion of an individual in regards to a human soul. Therefore individuals need the polis in order to be completed, that the polis through its laws shapes our souls. Freedom thus begins to be the allocation for us, as citizens of the great polis, to be allowed to live without the influences of sophists or poets who have a tendency claim knowledge where they have none and who also have the ability to, "educate most perfectly and who turn out young and old, men and women, just the way they want them to be" and not the way they ought to be (492b). That influence in Plato 's republic is ridden of. Thus, we are also free to live and "mind one 's own business" so that there are even less complications in our lives because there is no concern really except for that of the well being of the polis. There are even "guardians" to protect us. Everyone is allowed to live their life fully to the extent of their aptitudes without the restraints of being put into a predetermined class that disregards one 's abilities. This kind of meritocracy allows the people who are deemed the best for the society to be a part of the ruling class. The guardians protect the city along with the auxiliaries who make sure everything that the people needs are provided for, not what they want, but what they need


References: Bloom, Allan. The Republic of Plato. Basic Books, 1991
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