Plato's Republic

Author's name: Plato

One of the most valuable foundational books of political thought is "The Republic," in which justice is achieved as envisioned by Plato about four decades before Christ. Translated into Arabic by Hanna Khabbaz, the book is a philosophical and political dialogue through which Plato presents his vision of the ideal state, or the Socratic utopia. Socrates is the main interlocutor, surrounded by several figures who debate with him and who debate with him. As the debate escalates, the features of Plato's imagined Republic emerge. In Plato's Republic, each member of society belongs to a specific class and works in a specific field of expertise. A balance is achieved between the three forces that make up society: the rational force, the angry force, and the appetitive force. While attempting to define the just ruler and contrast him with the despotic ruler, he divides governments into four types: aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and despotism. On the one hand, he declares his inclination toward constitutional monarchy, while on the other, he acknowledges that absolute justice remains elusive.