Western Civ. 1-20: The Philosopher King, an Allegory for Christ

 3. What qualities does Plato's ideal monarch -- the "philosopher-king" -- possess?

    The Republic, Plato's great monument to authoritarianism, has been a curse to western civilization for the past few thousand years. In it, Plato expounds on a society governed by morally perfect philosophers, a mirror of vanity for Plato. This class of philosopher-kings was supposed to rule over a kingdom structured like Plato's model of the soul. These kings were envisioned as men of perfect constitution and virtue, selected from the ranks of the whole city. The idea was held in regard by some greeks, and certainly by some of the Roman emperors and European Monarchs of the late middle ages. Over the course of history, many prominent men have been influenced by The Republic and fallen prey to its devices. Even knowing this, is the concept of enlightened kingship as shallow as it seems, or is there more to the Platonic ideal than meets the eye? Let us find out. 

    To understand the king we must first know his kingdom, what follows is the structure of the republic. Plato saw the ideal form of government as being the same in the soul and in the polis. It was made of three parts, the appetitive, the spirited, and the rational. To him, the lower classes represented the unseeing appetite of man, those who were only concerned with their own well-being. They would be the producers and citizens of the city. Of course, every state needs a military and Plato assures us his will be incorruptible and virtuous. The City was to be policed and protected by a class of communistic auxiliaries. These would be men raised in spartan barracks without property or family, compelled to breed and fight for the service of the state. These strange warriors were to constitute the spirited aspect of the state. But the strangest class of all was the Guardians, an entire group of philosopher-beurocrats. I suppose that is how beurocrats see themselves but nevertheless, the idea is strange. These guardians would be perpetually subsidized to live without property or families. They would be responsible for running the state, freeing them to impose their philosophies on the public. 

    This strange kingdom is in fact governed by a strange king. A philosopher king after Plato's own image. Such a king was an image of vanity to Plato himself, who, declaredly best fit the description of one. . Such kings could be selected from any class for their virtues, but guardians would be most common. A King chosen from the logical class would be raised from birth in a commune without property or family. This was alleged to make them immune to corruption and nepotism. Later a guardian would receive a great education and serve in the bureaucracy. By the time a citizen of that class was fifty, he would be fit to rule according to the justice his philosophy had inclined him. Oddly enough a philosopher is the last person anyone would expect to become a king, to most they were useless academics. but strange still was the idea that qualified women should also rule and become philosopher queens, a radical idea for the time. 

    The Concept of a philosopher king has been popular in the west for thousands of years, Alexander, Marcus Aurelius, various Caliphs, and even Europeans like Friedreich the Great have been described this way. The key differences lie in the realities of their kingdoms. No state has ever achieved 'true platonism', and Plato seemed to not believe anyone could. Plato's political ideas differ from reality, probably more than he ever realized. Great leaders and Great philosophers are rare, their combination is like a unicorn, but to have someone who is totally selfless and incorruptible with those traits defies human nature. If such a man ever existed he would be God, and he did exist, his name is Jesus and his kingdom is here with us today. We can live in it, but only if we each endeavor to become like him. A true philosopher king cannot be appetitive or rash, and neither can we be in the kingdom of God. If we expect to rule earth like the form of God in heaven we have to embody the fullness of him. The image of Christ as ruler, and us as rulers in the image of Christ, this is the true nature of the philosopher king.