Katy Penrod

Pols 201 Section AC

Essay 1

Plato on Inequality
In Platos The Republic, Socrates sets out to determine what defines justice. In order to do
so, Plato believes it is necessary to look at what justice is in the ideal city (what he called the
Kallipolis) and then to look at analogous representations of justice in the individual. After
much dialectic discourse, Socrates comes to the conclusion that, for justice to be found in the
Kallipolis, everyone must do his own (pg. 48). That is, every person must fulfill the role that
he or she is best suited for. This conception of social justice rests on the assumption that humans
are born into a certain role (the concept of specialization) which in turn is based on the
assumption that humans are innately unequal. In order to ensure that specialization is realized in
the Kallipolis, Socrates constructs the noble lie which contends that each citizens soul was
mixed with a certain metal by the Gods and that it is this metallic composition of the soul that
determines the role of each citizen in society. While the Kallipolis might function more
efficiently if its citizens are made to believe the noble lie, it is not just to force some into limited
and submissive roles while allowing others to learn and develop in order to reach leadership
positions. If the same education were provided to all citizens in the just city, each person could
cultivate each part of his or her soul and discover organically where his or her true passions lie,
leading to a more well-rounded and effective society as a whole.
According to Plato, forced specialization is justified because people are unequal by
nature. Plato believed that human souls are divided into three parts: one part led by appetite and
desires, one led by spirit and passion, and one led by knowledge and wisdom. In linking the
individual with society, Plato argued that the three parts of the soul aligned with the three classes
if the ideal city. By this logic, in the Kallipolis, those led by appetite were meant to become
craftsmen, those led by spirit were destined to become warriors (what he called auxiliary), and
those led by wisdom were born to become the rulers (in his terms guardians) of society. In
order to make this concept of specialization palatable to the people of the ideal city, Socrates
constructs the self-titled noble lie. According to this myth, men were born out of the earth after
having been made by the Gods who used different mixtures of metals bronze, silver, and gold
to make their souls; those whose souls are made mostly of bronze are led by appetite, those with
mostly silver by spirit, and those with mostly gold by wisdom. Though Socrates believed that
seeking the truth is the ultimate goal in life (truth being understanding of the Forms or essences
of things), he deems this lie acceptable because it is necessary in order to make the city function
harmoniously. To Socrates, it is only through harmonious function of the Kallipolis that justice
can be found and thus it is worth sacrificing truth initially to ultimately realize justice.
For Plato, education is the most important element for the just citys optimal function, for
reaching true justice. And though Plato claims that people are born with certain types of souls, he
admits that education, even the most innately wise person would not be fit to rule the Kallipolis.
Plato does not believe, however, in equal education for all. Aside from advising that all children
should only hear stories about the Gods that portray them well (so that the Gods may serve as

good role models) he asserts that the type of education each citizen receives should cater to the
type of soul that they have. To further explicate and justify the unequal role of education in the
just city, Plato compares the body and the soul; both can have healthy and unhealthy states and,
just like the body, the soul is made healthy and unhealthy by what it consumes. Education
determines what the soul consumes and what activities that soul can and cannot engage in. To
Plato, this is both an opportunity and a danger. Since souls are always consuming, he argues that
what stimuli is available in the city needs to be regulated so as to produce the most healthy souls
possible. But what is needed to make a soul healthy is different depending on the composition of
that soul. Since he believes that the just city can only function through specialization, Plato
argues that education should cater to the innate quality of each individuals soul. The education
that is right for a potential guardian is not right for the craftsman or auxiliary just as the food that
is necessary for an athlete to be healthy is not the same as what is needed by someone who
spends time mostly sedentary.
While the logic of specialization and unequal education may hold true in Platos
conception of the just city, is it just in actual application? Today, though we have made
significant strides since the time of slavery and patriarchal societal structures, inequality is still
apparent in our society. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing, income inequality is
higher than it has ever been, men and women still dont have the same opportunities, and women
who work the same jobs as men still earn less; the list of inequalities goes on and on. Many
argue, like Plato, that inequality is natural, that some are born with more intelligence, athleticism,
creativity, etc. that allows them to succeed while those that are born with less aptitude are not
meant to and will not achieve as much success. But wasnt it Plato who said that even the most
innately wise individual cannot rule without proper education and training? It seems than that
even Plato knew the power of education to mold and boost individual knowledge and ability.
And while Plato believed that specialization was necessary to the harmonious function of the just
city, he discounted the possibilities for innovation and growth if all citizens were provided with
the same basis of knowledge, the same opportunity to learn and develop their unique gifts.
Specialization would still occur organically in the process of growing up and personal realization
of skills and passions, each citizen would be able to contribute more than one aspect of their soul
to society. In limiting education based on perceived innate qualities, Plato created a society that
would function but not prosper, that was stagnate rather than evolving.
Much the same could be said for modern American society in which the more privileged
are provided t tools for success while those less advantaged are short-shifted, perpetuating a
cycle of poverty and inequality and limiting the potential prosperity of individuals and the
country as a whole. Inequality is a complex problem and education is only one facet, but equal
education for all would mean another large stride away from the injustice of the past toward a
more harmonious and just future, one in which the souls of all individuals are made as healthy as
possible because all parts of their souls are cultivated. This would be a significant step towards
creating a kind of modern-day Kallipolis, this one based on the principles of equal educational
opportunity rather than a lie perpetuating unjustly forced specialization.