Leadership In Plato's Republic

In Plato’s Republic, Socrates outlines the ideal society, complete with workers to perform labor, auxiliaries to perform the military duties, and the guardians—or rulers—to set the laws of the state. The rulers, Socrates argues, are to be selected by their elders and groomed from a young age to assume positions of power. “…We must choose from among our guardians,” he states, “those who appear to us on observation to be most likely to devote their lives to doing what they judge to be in the interest of the community, and who are never prepared to act against it” (Plato 178). When choosing community-oriented leaders, Socrates believes current leaders should look for selflessness and wisdom in young auxiliaries, as well as for those whose emotions
Socrates builds upon the idea of community-oriented leadership, stating that rulers should not be influenced to make decisions by anyone, because such influence may be detrimental to the state. As a means of enforcing this principle, Socrates prohibits leaders in his state from owning any private property or holding wealth of any kind. He believes that by giving rulers the basic necessities of survival in exchange for their unbiased work, there will be no incentive to deviate from the community-oriented leadership which qualifies them for the highest class in society. Our current political system is structured far from Socrates’ vision for an ideal state, and he would likely be appalled at the democratic system of government we currently enjoy. The United States holds free elections open to all members of society who meet the required criteria, eliminating the guarantee that those in power are truly devoted to the best interests of the communities they represent. In fact, modern politicians often rule with themselves or their respective parties in mind, compromising the community-minded leadership Socrates proposed in the
The society outlined in the Republic is the most basic of states, while the United States is an industrialized nation with millions of citizens. Although the modern system allows for more corruption by the guardian class, the checks and balances controlled by ordinary citizens—if used correctly—can force rulers to keep the best interests of the community in mind. Due to the sheer size and complexity of society in the United States, our political system would not be able to sustain Socrates’ ideal vision, despite our less-than ideal modern