The Republic: Social Organization

• Socrates discusses social organization and specializations

The Republic

• Socrates speaks with Adeimantus about organizing society and its functions
• Imagine trying to read an inscription from afar; it's easier to see the larger version first
• Justice can exist in a community or an individual, but it's larger and easier to spot in a community
• Imagine a state coming into being; it starts because individuals can't meet all their needs alone
• People offer help and form a settlement where each person provides what they can in exchange for their needs
• Now, imagine an ideal state from the beginning: food, housing, and clothing are the greatest and first needs
• At least one farmer, builder, and weaver are needed, plus a shoemaker for personal needs
• A minimum state consists of just four or five people
• Should each person contribute their work to a shared pool, or should each person focus on meeting their own needs and divide their labor?
• Sharing is easier, since people have different skills, some better suited for specific jobs
• Doing one job well is better than dabbling in many because work must be done at the right time as the work won't wait as individuals have time for it
• More people will be needed than just the essentials because farmer needs a plough
• The tools people need require carpenters, smiths, and craftsmen to be included in a state
• Farmers will need cowherds and shepherds for plough animals, draught-animals, wool, and leather, so a larger state is required
• City will need imports, so traders and merchants are needed
• City will need ship-owners to manage the trade
• Marketplace and currency will be needed to exchange goods
• Shopkeepers needed to wait steady in one location to buy and sell goods from merchants
• Hired labourers will be needed to assist with the physical strength and heavy work labour
• A state now needs to consider land for pasture and have enough to not be in deficiency
• Need to consider neighbors and defend themselves against the desire for limitless wealth
• War stems from individuals' and states' excessive desires, causing great harm
• An army must be included for defence
• Guardians of the state protect citizens and property, needing freedom, skill, practice, and aptitude
• One must define natural talents to find appropriate people for each role
• To make the best guardians, one requires swift, strong, spirited, and philosophic individuals

Who Should Rule?

• Elders hold authority over the young, therefore best must be rulers
• Like the best farmers, the best guardians care for the commonwealth with intelligence and concern
• Guardians must be zealous for the commonwealth's good and protect from harm
• Proof against delusion should be used as well as memories being held firm
• Subject guardians to ordeals of toil, pain, pleasure and terrifying situations
• Well in these trials need to be rulers who receive highest tributes
• Ensures no external foes have power or internal foes with harm
• Auxiliaries enforce decisions of the Rulers

Convenient Fictions

• Convenient fictions would ensure commitment to the state
• Rulers, soldiers, and the community should only be experienced by nurture and education
• Reality is they were in earth being moulded and fostered, and at last sent from the womb
• Dwellers must see the land dwealt in as a mother to all citizens
• All in the land are brothers, but god mixed gold in those who are fit to rule, precious
• God mixes silver in the Auxiliaries, and iron and brass in farmers and craftsment
• Children will generally be like their parents; sometimes different
• They must watch what is mixed in the souls of the children
• With children of iron or brass, assigned to those stations with nature
• With children of silver or gold, they promote those to those roles
• Prophecy states ruin will come when a man of iron or brass takes over the state
• Take precaution against treating citizens poorly causing tyranny
• Ensure dwellings meet the need for this situation
• Not one to have dwelling or store-house that is not open for all to enter at will
• Their food is from the other that the barest necessities fixed so there shall be just enough for the year with nothing over
• They have meals in common and all live together like soldiers in a camp
• Not needing gold or silver, having the divine counterparts of those metal purity makes them the saviours of the commonwealth
• Lose land and houses and money, becoming tyrants being at emity
• Hating what is hating and people will go against a life in much turmoil

State Laws

• Guardians must try to keep to neither a unity nor in one that seems great but has no unity
• Duty mentioned earlier is moving down any interior promoting into the other classes
• Citizens one task for which he fitted him
• If they will to the one great thing education and nurture
• Sees through the matters as well wives and children
• Friends have all things in common where possible
• Community has makes a sound system of nurture and education

Community Growth

• Generates men of good disposition with development
• Watch over to overlook from least fraction against any innovation from rule established system of mind of body
• Our children's pastimes must keep from first with stricter bounded
• Licence is admitted that they will catch spirit and conduct in will conducted
• Attend doings foster growth, restoring decayed
• Consequence in behaviour or later to what the bent given by education with things that always has

Government

• Government can be like the state of health matters, such as overreaching a set of rights
• Invalid states form of government change in constitution and those for the ill for the greater, good

The Composition of a State

• Having good likes it lines is good
• Just have with the wise and very intelligence
• The state is one that it seems wisdom comes to the sight of those wise
• The best with knowledge resides in the order
• Wisdoms, courage, and temperance are all required for the perfect state

Qualities Still Remain

• Made in our state out in the object and subject
• Can we see it without it troubling ourselves
• The harmony of qualities did not mean what they did
• Surely meant the meaning what was going of it with the phrase and the same way
• The phrase to the man in part as the better and worse
• Have power that is the first to now in newly created to be conditions

Temperance

• There that is there and there
• That they state is what so
• In any have the all
• To where in in as all
• Those to a have to the
• On to the a there and then as
• Must to the have from the if to make its from to then in that and will to