A Model for a State Surveillance and Militarization - Essay Example

The Republic of Pla A Model for a Surveillance and Militarization? Introduction The Republic written by the philosopher Plato was one of the earliest treatises that paid close attention on what the ideal government and society should be. As far as students of political science and political philosophy are concerned, Platos idea for the best for of government system revolves around the concepts of justice, order and honor. Justice is the foremost matter in the question of ideal governance and that justice should be most sought against injustice. The focus of justice would lead to the pressing need to have and maintain an orderly society in Platos Republic with a very firm social structure and hierarchy of government. While this sounds to be very appealing for an effective and efficient state and government, this brings about the concern of the state as being totalitarian in nature. To maintain order in society, the government must keep close monitoring of its citizens and create a strong armed force and police to defend that social order. The view of this form of state and society is very familiar to the totalitarian form government. State surveillance and a highly militarized state are, after all, distinct characteristics of nation or country under totalitarianism. The question that could be asked right now is whether Plato would support state surveillance and militarism based on his writings and ideas found in his work the Republic. Does this mean that Platos ideal system of government curtails certain rights of citizens to maintain order and justice? Discussion of this matter will be discussed further in this paper with a few real world examples of totalitarian states as references. At the same time, such examples will be analyzed and placed into context with Platos idea of his Republic. A Watchful and Militarized Republic With the ever growing threat of terrorism, both internationally and locally homegrown, and the possibilities of uprisings or revolutions, it is not a surprise that many governments of the certain nations around the world have created their own state security agencies or organizations and highly strengthened military. There are various reasons as to why such state groups were set up by different national governments. Contemporary times and recent history shows that many governments have been very concerned and active when it comes to counter-insurgency and counter-revolutionary activities. It can also be considered that governments develop such organizations to prevent terrorist or revolutionary from even having the chance to form up. At the same time, such nations do not enjoy as much civil liberties as other highly democratic nations. For example, the United States of America has several key government surveillance and intelligence agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA). While the United States may be considered as the highlight, or the pre-eminent, example of a highly democratic nation by law, it does overlook some of the basic rights of its citizens to maintain security and order in terms of practice. Even prior to the bombing of the World Trade Center during September 11, 2001, the United States government justifies its political power to overlook a citizens right to privacy for the sake of national security. Some of the activities which these intelligence and surveillance groups commit involve wire-tapping or audio surveillance to listen to private conversations of individuals regardless of where they are. Another form of monitoring is remote-visual monitoring in which intelligence groups visually watch or monitor the activities of individuals wherever they go. Citizens lose their right to maintain private lives and while having anxious awareness that they are being watched. This, of course, would be reasoned as valid by the government since it keeps order and national security from hidden threats. In Platos Republic, wisdom is the quality that stems from sufficient knowledge held by the Guardians and the Philosopher-King which leads for the best possible behavior of the state, courage is the quality that makes the Guardians to act on the right decisions about what and what not to be fearful of, and lastly temperance a quality of orderliness or control is that quality which is necessary to keep the lower class people in check. Plato posits that there should be no differences between a just man and a just society, and in the same manner that society is deemed just when each of the mentioned three types of human virtues perform their own given roles. The individual is considered a just person only if it means the the same with fulfilling his or her function. This is what Plato would justify the state to make surveillance on its own citizens and to have a strong military force as to keep the lower class people in check. The problem is that Platos Republic speak in a very optimistic and idealistic tone that everyone within the the state will know exactly what they should do and will easily follow as to what the Philosopher-Kings and Guardians have commanded them to do. The ideal city is conceivable, but humans are psychologically unable to create and sustain such a city (Brown, plato.stanford.edu).This is a fact that is all to clear and apparent. In reality, not everyone within a state is aware of what their role in society is, and others are clearly dissidents or rebels towards the state. It should be taken to note that a few individuals is who plot against the state is already considered a problem for todays society. Besides that point, what more dangerous it must be when governments realize that the trouble of armed rebellions or uprisings are a large number within a population such as an ethnic minority group or a whole region in a country. The existence of such groups within a country threatens peace and order with the chances of civil war to occur. The creation of state-based agencies throughout the world and the heavy surveillance activities of law enforcement organizations would seek to quell this problem before it gets out of hand. In the United Kingdom for example, Police have been encouraged to "fully and strategically exploit" the database, which is already recording the whereabouts of 10 million drivers a day, during investigations ranging from counter-terrorism to low-level crime (Lewis, guardian.co.uk). The question that could be asked now is what happens if things do go out of hand? In Platos Republic, the states guardians are also there to defend the social peace and order with courage and, very likely, the use of force. The guardians could also be that of todays modern military or armed forces of the state, whose sole purpose is to defend the nations sovereign status and holdings from threats outside and within the nation. If ever a threat against a nation grows more dangerous, in which both intelligence and law enforcement agencies cannot handle on their own, it is the task of the military to enforce the peace with force if deemed necessary. It could be the same rationale between Platos Republic and todays affairs of state that having the guardians-armed forces is necessary to ensure that there will be strengthened security and defense for the social order if worse comes to worst among the different problem scenarios of the state. In modern and recent history, one can see the heavy use of the armed forces and highly militarized law enforcement groups in the former Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) or the current day Russian Federation. During the Cold War period, Russia had maintained a socio-economic and political order on various Eastern European nations to form what was then the Warsaw Pact. Throughout the history of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, there were various attempts to disrupt the political order that Russia held on Eastern Europe. Knowing that a successful uprising would cause a ripple effect in the breakdown of the socio-political order, it is of no surprise that the Russians sent its armies to quell these uprisings. During 1956, the nation of Hungary rebelled against Soviet rule in what is to be known as the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The Russian quickly responded, and the rebellion was crushed. During 1968, in what was then known as Czechoslovakia, the Prague Spring broke out in which the the government of Czechoslovakia attempted to deviate from the Soviet form of governance. This too was quelled when the Soviets sent its armed forces to stop such process. Even after the fall of the USSR and the creation of the Russian Federation, armed forces and heavily armed state security organizations were used in attempts to maintain national order and security. This could be seen heavily in the bloody armed actions in Chechnya since 1994 until now. Conclusion Critics of Plato, and his Republic, would say that such political ideas are bordering to absolute totalitarianism, or even communism. After all,. Plato’s concept of an ideal government and society does indeed gives a familiarity with a contemporary totalitarian form government in which places all the political power in the hands of a sole leader, asserts that every individual has a designated function to fulfill in society, and places great importance on the welfare of society instead of the will of an individual. For this to happen, in Platos opinion, the guardians must exist to enforce such order and to keep such a society secured. Democracy is not the focus of Platos political leanings, which is why he preferred the militant city-state of Sparta during his own time compared to Athens. For as long as there is the threat of dissidence, Plato believes that the guardians will always be needed to monitor its people and to be ready to take up arms to defend the social order. Even though some rights of citizens will be overlooked, the welfare of the whole is much more important than the welfare of one or two individuals. Works Cited Brown, Eric. Platos Ethics and Politics in the Republic. plato.stanford.edu. (2009). Web. December 2011 Lewis, Paul. Fears over privacy as police expand surveillance project. The Guardian.(2008). Web. December 2011 Read More