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Plato's Unjust Society

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In this essay, I will argue that Plato’s suggestion of diminishing families by having the Guardians take away and raise the children of the city is in fact, unjust. The point that Plato is addressing seems unfair to the citizens that reside in the city. It also seems a little unnecessary. First Aristotle critiques Plato’s argument by stating that when children are raised by the community, they will not be taken care of because “what is common to many is taken least care of.”1 Plato’s reasoning behind the Guardians raising children is that it helps the society remain Just. However, Plato does not realize the downfalls of this decision. Such downfalls include citizens wondering whom their ancestors and relatives are as well as a lost sense of family ties and ownership. These types of relationships can help the city grow more than Plato anticipates.
Family relationships also help strengthen relationships with friends. Having a family creates a sense of pride and ownership for those in the family. Without a family to look out for, one’s sense of self-worth diminishes. If the city wants to flourish, they must start at the family level. Plato does not realize this. Therefore, he removes the sense of family and property ownership and as a result, the idea of creating a Utopia is nearly impossible. In an egalitarian society, having a family and fellowship promotes gains in society. Self-worth is promoted when individuals have these bonds and a family to provide for. This motivates the individual to perform tasks that increase the wellbeing of the city. In return, this will bring gains to the family. Through the ties of family, the individual will be more motivated to help others. This brings the community together as a whole because of the awareness of having this possession.
In today’s society, family legacy means a lot to many different cultures. It is a sense of pride to the individual and to the family. A person is motivated to do well in society to carry out a family legacy. It would be unlikely for a person in Plato’s society to achieve their best solely based on improving the worth of the city. There is no reward for their hard work except for rewards that the city reaps. Many people want to carry out their legacy, but without the ownership of property or family there is not a legacy to be left behind for their children to remember them by.
Plato is concerned with raising children in a community in order to ensure the success of his society. However, this concern is unwarranted. There have been successful communities that have included biological family relations without any obvious harm to the community. Families are the basis of society and Plato fails to see this aspect in his Just society. Athens, for example, upheld family ownership ideals.
Athens proves Plato’s ideals to be misguided. The Athenians were unique individuals who believed that their citizens should be free as long as they acted within the laws of Greece. This allowed the citizens to excel in any direction they choose. The ideals that the Athenians had would lead them into being one of the first democratic societies of their time. Instead of being sorted into classes based of the Guardians assessment, the Athenians were free to peruse their own ambitions. These ambitions are what brought the many different types of art into Athenian culture. The free will to be able to choose what type of study they wanted to carry out rather than being sorted into a class based on spirit made the creativity more diverse. Plato’s ideas of the Just society are great ideas to base a society on. It is mart to say everyone in a society should carry out a role. This is what a city needs to flourish. Plato was a very smart man; although some of his ideas need more critiquing than others, and the idea of family identity being removed is an idea that needed a different approach.

Works Cited
1. Aristotle, and William Ellis. A Treatise on Government. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1912. Print.

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