Importance Of The Form Of Good In Plato's The Republic

In Plato’s The Republic (Translated by Allan Bloom) the topic of choosing the ruling class is a very important one as well as one of the most vital aspects of building an ideal society. In books III through VII, Socrates argues that the most effective rulers of his perfect society are philosopher-kings, chosen by previous rulers of the city who were also philosopher-kings. Throughout the majority of the prospective rulers’ lives, they are trained academically and physically in order to prepare them for leadership until they are chosen by the current rulers to be their successors. Being that the new philosopher-kings are chosen by incumbent rulers, the people who will be governed by them have absolutely no say in who their rulers are. In order …show more content…
Over the course of their training, superiors of the prospective rulers evaluate their abilities to determine if they should continue with their training or become auxiliaries, or enforcers. It is not until the prospective rulers are fifty years old that they completely understand the “Form of Good” and are chosen to become the philosopher-king rulers of the city (Plato 197). This “Form of Good” is what allegedly makes them fit leaders and virtually incorruptible. This idea is implausible; nearly every person who has ever lived has the potential to be corrupted if given lucrative circumstances. No matter how well educated and trained they are, these rulers are still human and thus susceptible to corruption. The threat of corruption is especially worsened if they will not be removed from power if corrupted, and in Socrates’ “perfect” society there are no methods set up to remove a ruler from power. There have to be frequent elections, at least every few years, to ensure that leaders are aware of the current situation and needs of the people and to prevent a corrupt leader being in power for an extended period of time where they can do major harm to the city. Most democratic societies have policies that mandate a leader’s removal if their corruption influences their role as a leader of their society. However, if a philosopher-king happens to give in, then for the rest of his lengthy reign of power he will ruin the city with no personal consequences. Also, if one of the many rulers in Socrates’ ideal society becomes corrupt there will likely be a domino effect in which the corrupted ruler negatively influences his fellow leaders. Then the corrupted rulers who choose their successors will choose those who resemble themselves, resulting in a corrupted, crumbling society and a complete betrayal of