Confucius and Plato

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Confucius and Plato

Confucius and Plato are two of the most respected and most widely studied teachers of history. There philosophies of how people should be governed and what characteristics make for a good leader. Both men’s ideas are good for the civilizations that they lived in, and they shared many similarities in their ideas. My own ideas of an ideal leader are a mixture of these two men’s ideas. The personal experiences of both men also play a key role in how they shape their ideas.
The best way to create a strong society has been discussed in depth by each of these men at great length. Plato believed that philosophers should be the ones to lead since they were those who understood absolute truth. He believed that a philosopher-king would be the ultimate leader because he had the great knowledge combined with leadership qualities to govern the people. Therefore he could effectively rule a civilization with both his moral views and his intelligence of military and economic issues.
Confucius believed a similar aspect to an extent but differed in a way. He too believed that a well-rounded moral man should be the leader of a civilization whether or not he was of noble birth. He felt that if a leader was of the utmost of moral goodness, no matter his upbringing, then he could be the best kind of leader because he would be a great example of how his people should live their own lives. He also placed much importa...

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