A utopian society is created so that people can live in harmony and equality. Kallipolis is a utopia because it exudes these qualities through specific practices such communal living, job assignments, and family organization. In order to enforce these policies The structure of there needs to be some sort of a ruler. A philosopher-king is the perfect person to take on that role. A good philosopher is honest, intelligent, wise, dedicated and thoughtful. Philosophers live by excellent moral character so there is no doubt that as king a philosopher would keep an entire city on the right track. As discussed throughout Republic a utopia would be founded completely based on justice. A philosopher-king would truly be able to enforce this justice. Philosophers are dedicated to finding the  truth in everything so a philosopher-king could proceed over any disputes about jobs, family-life, or lifestyle because he would know the truth and the right way to settle the conflict.

Kallipolis as a utopia, was created by Socrates and his fellow philosophers to maintain a just and equal society. Socrates explains, “They should have common messes to go to, and should live together like soldiers in a camp” (101-102). In making this suggestion Socrates is describing the specific method for enforcing equality in Kallipolis. In addition to these uniform living conditions there is also no private property in the city so there is no ability for any person to possess more than another person. This only works because the guardians are so passionate about their city that they are ok living this life of equality. They are smart enough to realize that material goods are meaningless and that this lifestyle creates the most good for the most people which in turn creates the happiest city possible.

Each individual in Kallipolis is content because each person is assigned to a job that they are good at. “Every other citizen, too, must be assigned to what naturally suits him, with one person assigned to one job so that practicing his own pursuit, each of them will become not many but one, and the entire city thereby naturally grow to be one, not many” (107). When people work on jobs that suit their talents they are both more engaged and more productive. There are so many jobs that must be completed to keep the city functioning but that is good because everyone is good at different things. If people work hard at the things they are good at the whole city will flourish. The population’s overall satisfaction with their jobs allows an air of happiness to float through lives of people in Kallipolis.

Another way that Kallipolis maintains harmony is through their family structure. They practice a way of life where everyone is related and each person in their generation is their brother or sister. People can be with whoever they want and children have every adult as their parents. In this practice everyone treats each other with the love and respect of someone in their family because they consider themselves one big family. This structure generates more love and allows children to learn parental wisdom from so many intelligent parents. This nurturing environment promotes equality and love which keeps the city going.

Works Cited

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

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Jessica Nadel

Plato and Socrates engage in a debate over the definition of justice. Throughout the dialogue Socrates never forms a single definition for justice but creates many individual definitions instead. Many people bring up valid definitions, but each time Socrates finds a hole in their explanation, he highlights their faulty logic. Through this process Plato lets the reader see that all of these definitions are somewhat valid and the loopholes just reveal how complicated justice is and how difficult it is to define.

The first way that justice is defined is “to speak the truth and repay what is borrowed” (Plato, 5). Cephalus and Polemarchus explain this first definition with lots of confidence. Socrates immediately sees the hole in this definition which is that a person should never repay a borrowed weapon to someone who has gone crazy. This very specific debate leads to a large conversation. Plato is using Socratic dialogue which is all of these questions and loopholes to let the reader not just accept one definition but to look harder. He is not just teaching that justice is complicated but also that looking for answers is complicated.

Later on there is a perfect example of how important it is to have an open mind when looking for answers. Polemarchus concludes that justice is “benefiting one’s friends and harming one’s enemies” (Plato, 9). He becomes pretty confident in that definition but Socrates will not accept it. He questions this and allows Polemarchus to think about whether benefitting a bad friend is truly justice. Once again Polemarchus accepts this critique and refines his definition to say more specifically that justice is benefitting good friends and hurting enemies who are bad. This is a great example of how Socrates pushed someone to think beyond their initial instincts and dig harder for a more specific definition.

When Thrasymachus enters the conversation a long debate ensues because he is very confident in what justice means to him. Thrasymachus says that; “Justice is none other than what is advantageous for the stronger” (Plato, 15). Socrates tries to disprove Thrasymachus’s point and he uses many examples to explain that people who are in charge of others do not always do what is advantageous for the stronger. One of the best techniques that Socrates uses is coming up with specific examples to refute this definition. In one example he says that a ship’s captain will take actions that benefit the ship and sailors instead of himself because that is his job. He says that the captain is an example of justice because he is doing what is right and yet his actions are not advantageous for him who is the stronger. Thrasymachus is then left in a corner because everything Socrates has said is true but yet he is still confident in his definition.

What is interesting is that Thrasymachus gets upset with Socrates for being so critical of everyone else. He is frustrated that Socrates who seems all knowing cannot give his own fool-proof definition of justice. It seems that Socrates will never give a perfect definition because there is no perfect definition. Plato uses socratic dialogue to teach that the best way to gather an answer is through questions and discussion but there is never one right answer.

A social utopia is a society founded on the idea that every individual should have equal possessions while also maintaining a harmonious environment. It must be formed voluntarily and it must have the goal of creating a happy way of life. In any society there are two important components to life, which are survival and happiness. In order to establish a sustainable society they must adapt to a more primitive and modest lifestyle.

The physical composition of the village is important for understanding how the village will function. It will be a modest village in the middle of the forest. The reason this village is to be situated in the woods is so that the community has access to natural resources which they will live off of. Families will live in wood and straw huts all circling around a central village meeting spot. The central meeting spot is where communal tasks like cooking and cleaning are done and it is also where social events will take place. This central set up promotes a strong sense of sharing and community.

In order put a utopia to practice the community must abandon all modern inventions and practicalities and revert to a much simpler way of life. Modern inventions and possessions make equality an impossibility, so to live in harmony technology will have to be abandoned.

Everyday jobs will be completed on a rotating cycle. Each month the adults will rotate around and complete their newly assigned jobs. These jobs will be essential for survival like chopping firewood, hunting, picking fruits, fishing, repairing broken huts, watching the children, cooking , cleaning etc. Each of these jobs will be done to benefit the entire village so for example the people who cook make food for the entire village to eat together. Making each job a necessity keeps each person incentivized to work hard. Another benefit of the rotation schedule is that it does not leave time for people to get bored with their jobs. With this simple but important system the society will easily be able to survive.

Social activities will also take place daily in the center of the village. These pleasurable activities will give people time to focus on their happiness. In order to maintain equality and a modest lifestyle these fun activities will not involve material items. People in the village can socialize, sing, dance, play games, have intellectual discussions and exercise. Although these activities are more simple, they are less materialistic and will give villagers simple joys.

A social utopia is so popularly praised and admired from a far but it is seldom put into practice. The issue is that people are always ambitious and looking for more “stuff” to give their lives meaning. The truth is that if the “stuff” is eliminated than people can find so much more in their lives. With appropriate job coordination and time allocated for recreation this social utopia will be a successful model for an equal and harmonious society.

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