Plato

Plato A longstanding debate in human history is what to do with power and what is the best way to rule. Who should have power, how should one rule and what its purpose should government serve have always been questions at the fore in civilization, and more than once have sparked controversy and conflict. The essential elements of rule have placed the human need for order and structure against the human desire for freedom, and compromising between the two has never been easy. It is a question that is still considered and argued to this day. However, the argument has not rested solely with military powers or politicians, but philosophers as well. Two prominent voices in this debate are Plato and Machiavelli, both of whom had very different ideas of government’s role in the lives of its people. For Plato, the essential service of government is to allow its citizens to live in their proper places and to do the things that they are best at. In short, Plato’s government reinforces the need for order while giving the illusion of freedom. On the other hand, Machiavelli proposes that government’s primary concern is to remain intact, thereby preserving stability for the people plato, machiavelli, power, one, government, people, ruler, state, rule, political, plato’s, been, populace, class, because, prince, individual, best, stability, politics, philosophy, new, through, reason, order, need, machiavelli’s, live, however, elite, within, time, states, rulers