WORLD CIVILIZATION

Detailed explanation-1: -In Plato’s Republic, Socrates is highly critical of democracy and proposes an aristocracy ruled by philosopher-kings. Plato’s political philosophy has thus often been considered totalitarian by some.

Detailed explanation-2: -The philosopher king is a hypothetical ruler in whom political skill is combined with philosophical knowledge. The concept of a city-state ruled by philosophers is first explored in Plato’s Republic, written around 375 BC.

Detailed explanation-3: -Plato’s ideal and just state is an aristocracy, the rule of the best. He believed leaders needed to be wise and trained in how to run a state, just as captains of ships are trained in how to run a ship. He divided his ideal state into three classes.

Detailed explanation-4: -Plato believed that philosophers would be the best rulers of society because they’re able to understand true goodness and justice in a way that other people cannot. Because they would understand that the greatest self-benefit is living virtuously, they would act out morally and not out of self-interest.

Detailed explanation-5: -Plato supported this idea so much that his ideal form of governance was not democracy, but rule by a benevolent “philosopher-king.”