Plato's Society Book Review

Book Review: Systems of Survival
1
"Guardians were to be so unsullied by property and trade, they were to own nothing as individuals" (Jacobs, 1992, p. 179).
While the society proposed by Plato is utopian for many people, I see the value in it, where guardians have to perform their duties as rulers and administrators, police and soldiers and the philosopher king. In this system, the guardians ensured that the community was working orderly, and the philosopher king brought forth the values that are now lacking in today's society - wisdom, goodness and selflessness. Guadians did not have to worry about their own survival, there were other sectors of the society that would provide their food, clothing and homes. The problem came when guardians began possessing properties, and so their roles were now confused - are they parents first to their children or guardians first to their country? When they began engaging in activities that were not meant for guardians, then they began using their prowess to gain what they want, and ultimately corrupting not just the guardian syndrome but also the commercial syndrome.
"...commercial people were to stick to trading and producing - well policed, well protected, and well ruled by the guardians. They were excluded from concerns of government except for their obligation to pay taxes and supply material goods required by guardians" (Jacobs, 1992, p. 180)
In Plato's society, everyone had a role to play. Commercial people had no business running nations because their very goal - to produce and trade - ran counter to that of the guardians. And yet, in our modern society, commercial people are also guardians - only the rich individuals or individuals backed by a rich corporation could actually run for office, thanks to the high cost of campaigning. Moreover, the capacity of people these days are measured by how much money they have accumulated for themselves - if they are rich, then they probably know how to make other people rich. And so, from their former role of producing and trading, commercial people have become the leaders of nations, and guardians of their own interests. The people for whom nations were built, are suffering because their interests are at the bottom of government agenda.
"...surplus money should be used for charity, ostentation, and largesse - guardian ideas - not for investment for productive purposes, such as buying goods here and transporting them there; buying materials and advancing them to the craftsmen, exporting crafts made with the materials; financing equipment like forges and smelters and improved city loom to increase efficiency. Those ideas of how to put surpluses to work belong to the commercial syndrome; andd the way is much smooth...