Plato: Political Philosophy

395 Pages·2006·3.084 MB·English

by  Malcolm Schofield

Founders of Modern Political
and Social Thought
PLATO
FOUNDERS OF
MODERN POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL THOUGHT
SERIES EDITOR
Mark Philp
OrielCollege,UniversityofOxford
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PLATO
Political Philosophy
Malcolm Schofield
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Schofield,Malcolm.
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ISBN-13:978–0–19–924946–6(alk.paper)
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Preface
This book had its origin (I believe) in a suggestion from Myles
BurnyeattoMarkPhilp,generaleditoroftheFoundersofModern
Political and Social Thought series. Serious thinking began in
response to an invitation to deliver Carlyle Seminars on the
Republic in Oxford in Trinity Term 2000. The philosophers,
historiansandpoliticaltheoristswhoparticipatedgavemyideas
a warm and argumentative reception. Through the good offices
of Myles Burnyeat I was privileged to enjoy the hospitality of
the Warden and Fellows of All Souls during my visits. Serious
writing was made possible by a year’s sabbatical in 2003–04. I
thankmy colleagues in the Faculty of Classics at Cambridgefor
shoulderingburdensinmyabsence.AnotherleaveinLentTerm
2005 and the honour and stimulus of the John and Penelope
Biggs Residency at Washington University, St Louis, set me up
for the final push. I am most grateful for the challenging week I
enjoyed in St Louis as a guest of the university and its classics
department. I was showered with generous hospitality: I hope
it will not be too invidious if I thank Bob Lamberton and Eric
Brownaboveallfortheirmanykindnesses.
I have profited from the observations and criticisms of col-
leagues on numerous occasions, both when I have delivered
versions of particular chapters as talks in various parts of the
world and in innumerable private conversations. A whistle-stop
lecture tour in March 2004, taking in Northwestern, Brown
and Princeton Universities and the University of Toronto, was
particularly helpful; and I returned with a draft of Chapter 5
from an unforgettable stay in May of that year at the Fonda-
tion Hardt—itself a sort of utopia. A number of friends gave me
extensivewrittencommentsonthefirstdraftofthewholebook:
Christopher Gill, Melissa Lane, Geoffrey Lloyd, David Sedley
and Christopher Taylor. It is much the better for their varied
input, both in detail and in its broader horizons. Two anonym-
ous readers for the Press wrote encouragingly about the draft
and the project as a whole, and were again very helpful in high-
lighting things to work on further. Finally, Mark Philp for the
series and Peter Momtchiloff for the Press have been the most
PREFACE
relaxed and kindlyofeditors. WhenMark finally got afulldraft,
he sent me one of the most searching and beautifully nuanced
set of responses I’ve ever had to anything I’ve written, at once
supportive and delicately quizzical. My thanks also go to Jenni
Craig,HelenGray,andAndrewHawkeyintheeditorialteamfor
theirfriendlyefficiency.
The book attempts both to ground an analytic account of
Plato’s political philosophy in its historical context, and to
suggestsomeoftheresonancesitfindsormightfindinmorecon-
temporary concerns and more recent political thought. I don’t
suppose I could have conceived that ambition or worked out
a strategy for carrying it through without the different sorts
of examples set by three scholars in particular: Moses Fin-
ley, Quentin Skinner and Josh Ober—whose advantages over
me include being proper historians. Learning to read Plato is a
continuing adventure. I am particularly indebted to colleagues
in Cambridge, who have frequently returned to Plato in our
Thursdayeveningreadinggroup,andabovealltoMylesBurnyeat,
for all we have learned from him, especially during his time as
LaurenceProfessorofAncientPhilosophy.
In the years through which this book was in the making
I had as always the unassuming loving support of my wife
Elizabeth. She died at the end of July 2005, trying to complete
the massive, hugely demanding, and often lonely archaeological
writing project on which she had been working for a decade and
ahalf.
viii
Contents
Introduction 1
1. The Republic:Contextsand Projects 7
1. TheCentrepiece 7
2. SomeDubiousPlatonicAutobiography 13
3. Socrates:EngagementandDetachment 19
4. TheProjectsoftheRepublic 30
5. Education,SpartaandthePoliteiaTradition 35
2. Athens, Democracy and Freedom 51
1. DemocraticEntanglements 51
2. DemocracyandRhetoric 63
3. TheLawsonDemocracyandFreedom 74
4. Conclusion 88
3. Problematizing Democracy 100
1. FromPolaritytoComplexity 100
2. Democracy,EqualityandFreedom 107
3. DemocracyandPluralism 112
4. DemocracyandAnarchy 117
5. DemocracyandKnowledge 121
6. Conclusion 130
4. The Ruleof Knowledge 136
1. PhilosophyorPoliticalExpertise? 136
2. MillandJowettonPlato 138
3. ArchitectonicKnowledge 144
4. PhilosopherRulers 155
5. ArchitectonicKnowledgeRevisited 164
6. TheLimitationsofManagement 173
7. Conclusion 182
5. Utopia 194
1. AgainstUtopia 194
2. AQuestionofSeriousness 197
3. AFutureforUtopianism 199
4. Plato’sUtopianRealism 203