In Plato’s Republic Plato makes an attempt to create a lifestyle in which everything is just. He believes that if everything is just than there will be happiness and harmony for the whole community. In this work, Plato uses Socrates and his dialogue to break down ideas about justice and details about how to form a utopian society. In the creation of this society, Socrates develops the role of the guardians a group of outstanding individuals who are in charge of defending the city. Socrates presents the guardians as a group of people that live an egalitarian lifestyle that will ultimately allow them to live happily. After analyzing the text, I have come to the conclusion that the guardian lifestyle does not ensure nor even promote a happy lifestyle for the guardians.

Plato presents the guardians as the most impressive people in society whose job it is to enforce justice in Kallipolis. They put the city’s best interests before their own. Socrates crafts the system so that people are well evaluated before they are selected to be guardians. Aside from the fact they have to be physically fit and musically trained to ensure a diversity of skills, they must also live in a unique way. Their main job is to defend the city from enemies, but they must also maintain peace within the city walls. Their outward demeanor must also be very specific. Socrates argues that “besides being spirited” the guardians should also be intellectually well-rounded (Plato 375e10). If a guardian is spirited, it means he will have the passion to defend his people. Additionally, if he is philosophical he can be intelligent about the decisions he makes and be certain about what will truly benefit everyone.

In Kallipolis the guardians live communally without private property. This lifestyle allows the guardians to always have enough resources so that they will survive but also never have anything in excess that will distract them from their work or create a social disparity. Socrates believes that “wealth and poverty (…) makes for luxury, idleness, and revolution” because people are never content (Plato 422a1). In order to combat the problems that money brings the guardians will live differently so that they can enforce justice. Communal living and the elimination of private property are the things Socrates suggests to allow the guardians to be happy and prepared for their jobs. His argument is that if people are not focusing on communal possessions than they have more time to focus on their community, relationships, job, etc. all things that really impact someone’s happiness.

While the guardian lifestyle is unique in its living arrangements, it is a lifestyle that is not ideal for keeping the guardians happy. Communal living is good for creating a community but it also involves a lot of sharing and people’s access to only necessary resources. If communal living was the only practice that these guardians knew then maybe it would be accepted but they can see people living in their own city who are allowed to possess private property. Adeimantus makes this exact argument that this lifestyle might “not (be) making these men very happy” because compared to the producers who receive a salary and can purchase material goods the guardians have nothing and they may become very jealous (419a1). Another problem with this lifestyle is that the guardians are forced into their job based on their skills and not their desire to do their job. It is hard to keep people happy when they are not doing what they like and it is impossible to imagine that every skilled person is content with being a guardian. The system for family life is also controversial and could also leave people upset. Many people like to have just a few close relationships with their family but the guardian family system forces people to have a huge family which provides fewer opportunities for close connections. For all of these reasons, it is easy to see that the guardians may be dissatisfied about the way that they have to live.

Coming from the other side, there are still several reasons why this communal lifestyle could truly contribute to the overall happiness of the guardians. Firstly, they are a highly selective community of the brightest, most talented individuals who are passionate defending their city. Since they are a group of honorable individuals united in the mission to defend their city it is likely that they will work well together. Another important benefit of this communal lifestyle is that there are always enough resources to sustain themselves and yet there is never any jealousy or wealth disparity because there is no private property. These lifestyle choices are really important because they create happiness for the guardians and also contribute to the utopian vision.

These arguments are valid and yet it is impossible to ignore the huge potential for discontent amongst the guardians. Guardians are supposed to be happy and live justly yet that is impossible when their lives are not even created on a foundation of justice. If Kallipolis is to be founded on equality, then it makes no sense that the guardians are chosen selectively. Instead guardians should be selected using job rotations that would allow for everyone to get an equal opportunity to have an important position. Additionally, the foundation of the guardian work ethic is completely unjust as it is all based on lies. Socrates realized the challenge of creating a strong work ethic in an egalitarian community so he said “we will tell them that they have gold and silver of a divine sort in their souls as a permanent gift from the gods” so that they will work hard and gain motivation from this honor bestowed upon them by the divine (Plato 416e4). This calculated lie leads me to believe that the guardians could never be truly happy as everything that keeps them motivated is false. In addition to motivation, ambition is a major factor in keeping people productive in life and this communal lifestyle does not have room for people with that characteristic. There is no room for growth or change for the guardians which is a major reason that they could never live happily the way that Socrates describes.

After evaluating both arguments I am certain the guardian lifestyle does not allow for the guardians to reach their ultimate level of happiness. Some benefits of a communal lifestyle are a strong community with a consistent store of resources. The problems with the guardian community however far outweigh these benefits. Seeing as they can watch their fellow citizens prosper and they themselves have no room for growth makes it impossible for the guardians to be content. In truth the guardian lifestyle appears to be so unjust that it puts a hole through Socrates whole designation of Kallipolis as a utopian community.

Word Count: 1179

Works Cited

Plato. Republic. (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2004)

I pledge that I have neither received nor given unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work.

Jessica Nadel