Socrates Political Constitution Analysis

In this work, Socrates presents four different types of political constitutions. The four types are as follows: Timocracy; Oligarchy; Democracy; and Tyranny. Socrates points out the kind of men grow out of these different constitutions and how one is in fact less desirable and transferred from its preceding form of government/constitution. All four are different stages of deterioration from the perfect, just style of constitution Kallipolis.

First Socrates discusses a timocracy. A timocracy is a political constitution that formed by men who pursue spirited honor and glory. They are more concerned with war and the admiration that war heroes get over the accumulation of material wealth. This type of man shaped by this constitution is rather simple in nature in that he is very matter of fact and rational in his thinking. He is not necessarily a “high-thinking” man and is very direct; cut and dry. Simple men are more inclined to war than peace.

According to Socrates, the timocratic man comes to be out of a society, having competing interests of the focus on virtue versus the accumulation of wealth. It is a compromise between these two competing interests and is the corresponding type of man is formed is by his parents and other adults (namely servants) that he comes into contact with. The father may be all about the pursuit of glory and the honor and prestige that come with being a warrior. Therefore, the father would appeal to the young man’s rational side. On the other hand, his mother would appeal to his greed and encourage him to pursue material possessions (549d). As a result, the young man grows and accepts a happy medium of his influences and becomes an victory-loving and spirited man that has a now larger lust for mon...

... middle of paper ...

...e of the auxiliaries – the warrior class. This is a worthy goal to pursue but may never truly exist because while man has the ability to reason, that reason is always bound to become misguided over time and degrade into the four different political constitutions discussed earlier in this paper.

In final, I feel that Socrates’s arguments are valid and he is successful in explaining his reasoning as to why the just society would provide the happiest life. When a person is not enslaved to a lust for power and or wealth, or succumbs to base physical desires there will be less crime. It is a worthy goal that we all should pursue. Not all goals or ideals are readily if ever fully achieved, but it is a good thing to strive for. In order to change society, we must all first become that change agent and be the living, breathing representation of that which we aspire to.