Critical Analysis of The Republic by Plato

The Republic is less of a practical guide for future policy and more of a set of bold provocations. It is one of the most influential philosophical works in the Western tradition, filled with unconventional and sometimes surprising ideas. For example, Plato's suggestion that men and women should be treated equally and that justice is found within the structure of a state rather than its actions was revolutionary in his time. Even today, no state has attempted the radical educational process Plato recommends for the guardians, nor the communal living that eliminates the family and private property. By presenting these ideas within the framework of the ideal state, Plato challenges us to consider why we might disagree with them. To refute these unconventional proposals, we must think as creatively as Plato did in formulating them. Dialogue and the Challenge of Thrasymachus Unlike Plato’s earlier works, The Republic contains less dialogue, as it deals with such counterintuitive ideas.…