Theories of State: Plato and Kautilya

The start of theater and drama in Ancient Greece took form in about 5th century b.c, with Sophocles being considered the master of tragedy. In his plays and those of the same genre, classic fables that the people of the era knew well were used to tell the stories. The tragic hero’s of these stories often strive to live honorable and righteous lives, but because of some mistake their lives would often great and noble death. The idea that serving the state was proper way to gain honor was a popular belief during this time period. This philosophy was echoed by Plato in his book, the Republic. Plato dealt with establishing the ideal state. The way to achieve the ideal state was through striving for justice. Justice, according to Plato, is doing only the tasks assigned to them by nature. This is the fundamental notion for his creation of an ideal city. It is both knowing what true justice is and where one belongs in the city that the ideal can be achieved. Justice in a city can be found in an individual as well outside the individual because it is a concept that is universal. If a ruler of a state was to maintain order and control over his people

The rulers are the most important and must be brought up with a good moral upbringing. Plato believes that it is necessary to tell the rulers falsehoods in their childhood to have them be gentile to their own people and harmful to their enemies. In order to give them a good moral upbringing Plato states that you need to read them stories about the Gods. But because the ruler can only be subjected to good moral ideas, the evil stories will be overlooked. " Aren't there two kinds of story, one true and the other false?" Socrates states," Yes. And mustn't our men be educated in both, but first in false ones?" Plato thinks that children not be confronted with anything evil until its character is already formed, making the children respect honesty and virtue." The young cant distinguish what is allegorical from what isn't, and the opinions they absorb at that age are hard to erase and apt to become unalternatable. For these reasons, then, we should take the utmost care to insure that the first stories they hear about virtue are the best ones for them to hear."

They are educated through their strict curriculum, and due to the virtues that they learn, they are able to rule in a just manner (Plato 515a). The purpose of life for Plato is to create a just state. Through a broad education, and a democratic government, justice can be pursued. Justice is defined as the harmony that results when everyone is actively engaged in fulfilling his role and does not meddle with that of others (Plato 434e). When each person follows their role in life, stability can be achieved in the state.

Now let us take a look into the background of the story. Plato gives his ideals on a perfect society and everything it should include. He basically implies that justice is rightness, and rightness is whatever he feels it should be. He breaks society down into guardians, wage earners, and auxiliaries. Wage earners are people such as surgeons or shoemakers.

The producers are the craftsmen, farmers etc.; the auxiliaries are the warriors/soldiers; and the guardians are the rulers. This hierarchy places the rulers at the top of the food chain followed by the auxiliaries with the producers at the bottom. In this society, each group is required to perform is appropriate function and only that function. It is the rulers’ job to rule, the auxiliaries uphold the convictions of the rulers, and the producers are to limit themselves to exercising their natural skills. Plato argues that state justice requires each individual it conform to the societal role they have been given and not to interfere with any other business.

In the Myth of the Metals, people are born with gold, silver, or bronze. These metals determine the role each individual will carry out in their state; gold being guardian or governing body, silver being auxiliary or soldier, and bronze being the working class. Because Plato believes everyone is different in nature, it serves as the justification for the Myth of the Metals where the essential parts of society are assigned to individuals at birth. By placing individuals to their highest natural aptitude (guardian, soldier, and worker) they are able to reach human potential and represent the ideal state. This, Plato suggests, is the philosopher’s best method of prescribing a common belief structure within the cave, and more importantly the royal lie to communicate with the non-philosopher.

The three classes are a product of different aptitude levels for certain tasks amid various individuals. Plato assigns different political roles to different members of each class. It appears that the only classes that are allowed to participate in government are the Auxiliaries and, of course, the Philosopher Rulers. The lower class does not partake in politics because they are not mentally able. In other words, they do not understand the concept of the forms. Thus, it is better to allow the Philosophers, who do have this knowledge, to lead them. Providing food and abode for the Guardians are the only governmental responsibility the lower class has. The Auxiliaries are in charge of the military, police, and executive duties. Ruling and making laws is reserved for the Philosopher Rulers whose actions are all intended for the good of the state. To ensure that public good continues to be foremost

The “state” is best understood in relation to a government’s power, influence and involvement with citizens’ rights in a given territory. The larger the state the more involved it is in the lives of its citizens.

Plato?s view of Justice can be seen in his model of The Tripartite Soul. In this model Plato outlines 3 sectors of his ideal society. This theoretical society is composed of Guardians, Auxiliaries, and Producers. The Guardians were the upper class citizens who had the authority to pass judgment. Guardians were rational and wise, and could participate and become involved in politics. The Auxiliaries were positioned as courageous citizens who helped preserve the spirit and emotion of a society by ?protecting and serving? much like a modern day public works department or police and fire squad. In the lowest tier of Plato?s ideal society were the Producers, whose job it was to create. The Producers were to use temperance in their lives, for they were classified as appetitive souls who could easily succumb to bodily desires. The Producers were to practice asceticism, which is the eradication of bodily desires.

Throughout Plato’s explanations, he utilizes the myth of the three metals to provide justification for the class system which he believes will create a perfect society. As Plato idealizes, each metal represents a specific class in society. ““Appropriately so. Nevertheless, listen to the rest of the story. “All of you in the city are brothers,” we’ll say to them in telling our story, “but the god who made you mixed some gold into those who are adequately equipped to rule, because they are most valuable.””

In Plato’s Republic a person duty is determined by their natural ability. Unlike Thomas Mores Utopia, Socrates believes that a person should focus on achieving the most for themselves rather than the community being primary purpose. Plato’s Republic greatly supports the idea of inequality, and shows that social stratification is essential for the movement of the economy. For a country to function, there must be some sort of hierarchy and inequality. In page 118 of the republic Socrates states that he “leaves it to each class to achieve the kind of happiness that nature confers it”(pg. 18). Citizens in each class must work hard to prosper in theirs own class. People in the Republic must have the mentality of working hard for themselves. What they don’t realize is the domino effect that is triggered. As they work more, the classes above them are also greatly impacted because they are able to benefit. Social Stratification is valued in Socrates to a certain extend. Socrates mentions the importance of each member in each class to be apart of neither wealth nor poverty. In Plato’s republic, the importance of not being rich and not being poor is greatly expressed. Socrates gives Adeimantus the example of the craftsman.

Plato suggests the entirety of everything a ruler does is for the advantage of the ruled. He does so in an analogy between the ruler of a society and the pilot of a ship. He writes, “the ruler will consider or command the benefit not of the pilot, but of the man who is a sailor and is ruled" (Plato 21). In putting the society before himself, he tells everyone what is known as the Noble Lie. In it, he claims that everyone in the city belongs to the city because they were born there and that there is a divine sanction to their natural hierarchy. This promotes an expectation of loyalty and keeps everyone satisfied with their standings in life within their trades. Through the Noble Lie, the ruler serves the city by ensuring order continues and that everyone is committed to the continued success of the city.

This paper will argue that money is problematic to Plato largely because his ideal city Kallipolis is filled with virtuous leaders and citizens living in harmony and unity. When money is involved, Plato believes that it is human nature for even the most virtuous leader to lack the will to resist the temptation. Plato discusses the five different types of regimes and constitutions people can live under, Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy and Tyranny. As regimes shift into the next, virtue decreases and corruption in the state arises. When obtaining wealth and acquiring private property is a motivating factor for humans, people start making self-interested decisions; choosing to take part in politics and fighting in wars for personal gains, and not for the benefit of the whole. When education and training is not the priority from an early age, citizens become lazy and there is a divide in the city between the rich and the poor. Plato goes to great lengths to ensure that the city is just by abolishing private property and creating the noble lie.

Back in those days of the Greek and Roman women were not able to participate in physical education and sport to the same degree as men, so they never had the same chances that men did. Greeks would never let women partake in physical education, but the Romans were not quite as harsh letting them occasionally do dancing or light exercise. Once the fall of the Roman Empire happened it became what was known as the dark ages for physical education (Siedentop 25). It was a period of 1,000 years “in which physical activity, sport, and fitness diminished in importance amid political and economic chaos” (Siedentop 25).

In order to compare these great philosophers, it is important that we first of all view their history from an individual perspective.