The System of Government Through the Creation of an Ideal Society - Essay Example

Leadership and Philosophy A number of theorists have provided a famous place to the thought of justice. Most of them were not satisfied with the existing relapsing conditions of Athens. The Athenian democracy was in the process of destruction and was eventually considered to be liable for Socrates’ death. Athens was majorly dominated by meddlesomeness and extreme selfishness. This paper is majorly going to focus on the views of Plato and Socrates (Krieger 281). The paper is important because it will provide relevant information on how Plato’s concepts of virtue and justice impacted democracy. Democracy in Athens has been full of individualism and political selfishness. In addition, most people living in Athens captured governmental jobs for their own self-centered reasons and finally divided the city into two hostile groups of the rich and poor. The other group formed was that of the oppressor and the oppressed. Conversely, Plato’s philosophy on virtue and justice greatly impacted democracy. Plato’s viewpoints provided a well-known place to the notion of justice. He was not happy with the existing decaying conditions in Athens. A number of his attacks majorly criticized the unpaid meddlesomeness and extreme uniqueness. He criticized the system of government through the creation of an ideal society where justice was embraced in all the activities within the city. This is because Plato had discovered that the problems in this context could only be treated by ensuring that people are treated equally and with a lot of justice. It is important to note that there had been a number of hypotheses of justice before Plato came into the limelight. Therefore, he had to reject the theories. For instance, he did not support the traditional theory of justice since he believed that justice was about saying the truth and settling one’s debt. According to Plato, the theories which were presented by Cephalus, Thrasymachus, and Glaucon had a common element. They handled justice an achievement, importation, or convention. Therefore, he was able to verify that justice is not based on chance, togetherness, or external forces. He was able to provide different meaning of justice hence people could easily understand what he meant. For instance, the people living in Athens accepted that justice cannot be obtained without three elements (reason, spirit, and appetite). Democracy also prevailed after people had realized that their souls operated without affecting other elements in the body. There are also three categories of the social organism-philosopher equivalent to the discussed three elements in an individual’s life. The first category is of the wealthy people which represent a reason (Koslowski 105). Moreover, warriors are represented by auxiliaries while people who fight for the rights of their country are represented by spirit. The craving nature of the society which comprises of farmers and the artisan are considered to be the lowest step of the hierarchy. Thus constructing a network between individual and social organisms respectively, Plato stated that operational specialization require from all social class to concentrate itself in the area of life given to it. To Plato, justice resembles a document which can be found in more than one copy where by one is bigger than the other. The copies can be found in both an individual and the society at large. But it is present on a huge scale and in more clear form in the community. On a personal basis, justice is considered to be a human’s good quality hence this provides a man with the ability to be self reliable and good. Justice in social terms means the social awareness that makes a community internally pleasant and good. For that reason, justice is believed to be a kind of specialization. It is the determination to accomplish the duties of an individual’s station and not to interfere with the duties of another place. Hence its occupation is in the mind of every individual who performs his duties in his allotted area. According to Plato, justice is believed to be part of an individual’s good quality and the bond which connects different people together in the society. According to Raphael, Plato’s greatest accomplishment is that he was against the sophists; decide to change Athens, which did not trust its old religion, traditions and beliefs, a way by which development and the health of the city could be brought back (32). His concepts of virtue and justice impacted democracy by ensuring that there was balanced and honest political order in Athens. Consequently, the people living in Athens were able to live in unity and practice gladness at their own cost. This led to the prevalence of justice, understanding, self-control, and bravery. Arguably, justice is the impartiality that provides each social faction its due. It also ensures that every individual does his own work. He believed that wisdom, being the understanding of an individual and political discretion, determines the quality of leadership. Plato considered courage as the capability of an individual to protect the right, values of friendship and sovereignty on which a good community is established. Through moderation acquired from the Plato’s concepts of virtue and justice there was peace and happiness for every individual in Athens. This implies that there was impartiality of all social classes. There was a clear expression of the joint approval of both the ruled and the governors on the person to take charge. The four qualities of a good society discussed earlier illustrate the mind of a well-ordered person. The minds of the people living in the city no longer had insatiability, lust and other shameful vices. People were able to direct themselves to divine (Urbinati 238). Plato’s main intention was to free the mind from the vices. Hence Athenians were made to believe that only the morally freed individual, with a good and well ordered mind, can experience true pleasure. According to him, a nation can only have an excellent system of government when its operations are based on the principles of virtue. Even though Plato’s analysis of democracy is believed by current readers to be irrelevant in the present liberal democracy, his political viewpoint is that he reminds people of the ethical and divine dimension of political life. This greatly changed people’s souls and way of life since they were able to except that virtue is the livelihood of a god community. Conclusively, Plato’s accomplishment as a political theorist is evident since he acknowledged that it was possible to solve political problems through the acceptance of the body of knowledge. Political problems like factionalism and corruption of principles is enough to destroy a city. Most of his political ideas were incorporated into the Athens’ system of government. For instance, there was the rule of law, sensible understanding, and the principle of harmony of interests. The above political ideas have thoughtfully influenced successive political philosophers. According to Andrain and James, Plato’s political views are still considered to have a lot of influence in the Athens city and the society as a whole (95). His idealistic viewpoint focuses on thoughts and principles, desirable quality verses vice, and necessary individual values. Therefore, it is able to dispute the current philosophy of common dependence on greed, extreme objectivism, and relativism. A number of people are still inspired by his quest for the perfect person and perfect city, which was majorly based on impartiality and accord. Through his philosophy, people were able to understand the boundaries of democracy. It is worth admitting that Plato’s concepts of virtue and justice impacted democracy. It is understood that Athenian democracy was in the process of destruction and was eventually considered to be liable for Socrates’ death, but after his criticisms, the excepted political system was restored. People were determined to accomplish their duties without interfering with others. Moreover, the other reason why it is believed that his concepts of virtue and justice impacted democracy is that he criticisms led to the creation of a balanced and honest political order in Athens. From the two analyses, is clear that Plato’s viewpoint was extremely welcomed by the government of Athens and its people. Most of the important questions have been answered in the research. The only question which needs more research is the validity of Plato’s philosophy in the current world where there is liberal democracy. Even though a number of people condemned Plato for the dictatorial nature of his perfect city, his views are considered to be important when it comes to acknowledging the boundaries of democracy. Works Cited Andrain, Charles F, and James T. Smith. Political Democracy, Trust, and Social Justice: A Comparative Overview. Boston: Hanover, N.H., 2006. Print. Koslowski, Peter. Principles of Ethical Economy. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. Print. Krieger, Joel. The Oxford Companion to Comparative Politics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print. Raphael, D D. Concepts of Justice. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2003. Print. Urbinati, Nadia. Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Internet resource. Read More