Assess the degree of freedom in Plato’s republic
In Plato’s republic someone living in that kind of society today would view it very differently from someone from Plato’s era. This means that we have to put everything in context. The other societies that Plato talked about were rubbished due to too much power given to one individual, and the leader giving in to the popular demand of the people even though it may not necessarily be the best thing for them. Plato’s society of the Republic gave more freedom than some of the other society’s discussed yet no where near as much freedom as we have today in our society. In Plato’s democracy children would have a communal education, and then they would be assessed as they grew up then divided into he classes of gold, bronze, and silver. This division is what Plato’s Republic was based around. The bronze workers were the field workers, and the silver was the soldiers, leaving the philosophers as the gold. The philosophers would be the people with the most freedom in Plato’s republic. Although Plato says that as a philosopher he wouldn’t be swayed by money or women. He would still have the choice to make decisions for himself and the people in the Republic. Plato also suggested that he would have all his food cooked for him and the 3 classes should not mix together. This eliminates the freedom of aspiration to better yourself in some way and confines you to your particular class. However there is freedom to change class only if you have been fitted to the wrong one. By being confined to a particular class freedom is also taken away from the individual to mix within the whole society.
