Democracy In The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato

When people begin to interpret the illusions of reality in the same way, political control has been achieved. ‘The Allegory of the Cave’ by Plato shows a political structure designed to control how reality is perceived. Control is established by a hierarchy. The classes are determined by the people’s ability to clothe illusions as truth, as opposed to finding truth and using it to dismiss falsehood. Plato argues that the enlightened, or higher men, should be the custodians of rulership, and that they should have an obligation to progress individual and societal development at the expense of control.
Political control occurs when people see the world in the same way. Prior to writing ‘The Allegory of the Cave’ Plato witnessed the execution of Socrates, the subject of the allegory, on the grounds of opposing the use of a democracy. Socrates and Plato believed that society should be ruled by enlightened ‘Philosopher Kings’ instead of having power placed in the hands of ordinary people. The prisoners in the cave have ‘been shackled by the legs and neck and forced to stare at a fire lit wall since childhood’, which symbolises ordinary people and their inability to perceive beyond their own intellect. For the prisoner, ‘the shadows of people that walk between them and the fire’ are their only source of reality and the ‘prisoners share common interpretations of the shadows between each …show more content…
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