Thread: Flat Black
View Single Post
Old 08-17-2009, 09:26 PM   #24
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: Flat Black

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Incidentally, the irony of the work's Latin title and the later meaning of that phrase in modern languages has always titilated me somewhat. Whatever Plato's Republic is, it is no republic.
Actually, I have been struck in the past by the impression that Plato is actually describing a libertarian society. He gives a lucid explanation of the social surplus from trade (a point that Aristotle never figured out, with his "just price" idea); he points out that the wealth it generates will make a community a target for invaders and brigands, and that it will need protectors; and he asks how those protectors are to be prevented from using their power to advance their own private interests at the expense of the people they protect, and argues that the only really workable method is to have them lead lives devoid of private interests. Thus, they may not own property, and men may not know who their children are.

I know, it's not remotely like the usual readings. But it's kind of like Heinlein's Space Cadet, where the three space services are defined in terms reminiscent of Plato's guardians, auxiliaries, and commoners, and where the motto of the Patrol is Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Bill Stoddard
whswhs is offline   Reply With Quote