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Ideal Political Leaders Research Paper

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Social Foundations I
Kyu Hyeon Kim
Prompt: Should the ideal political leader want to lead? How would Plato and the Epicureans answer that question?
Title: An Innate Drive of Ideal Political Leader to lead the city

In this paper, I will argue that the ideal political leaders would like to lead the city from their innate drive. I will describe how the innate drive makes the ideal political leader overcome the conditions that Plato and Epicureans suggested. Before, I disagree with Plato and Epicureans on this point, I’ll briefly describe why Plato and Epicureans think the ideal political leader would not want to lead the city.

According to Plato, “Philosopher” is a person who has the knowledge applicable to any aspects of the city and sufficient …show more content…
(Lucretius, V.1120) They wanted to have the fortune from the rigid foundation from the popularity and power in order to have a balanced life.(Lucretius, V.1116) In order to have a solid foundation of fortune, people intend to become a political leader. (Lucretius, V.1123) However, this decision brings the opposite outcomes because people will have more dangerous life. (Lucretius, V.1130) Lucretius states that it is better to become a subject in order to have a peaceful life rather than pursue the leadership. (Lucretius, V.1130)Moreover, people will have to compete with other power-followers in the narrow path of objective. (Lucretius, V.1132) The negative outcome is much more obvious for people who did not have their own faiths because they are based on the uncertainty. (Lucretius, V.1134) They would never become succeed nor will become succeed. (Lucretius, V.1136)

I strongly disagree with the arguments of Plato and Lucretius in that ideal political leader would not want to lead. I believe that the ideal political leader would like to lead the city and attempt to do one’s best regardless of one’s own exterior circumstances described by Plato and Epicureans. The virtue trained for many years would make the philosopher to lead the

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