per working order.Plato’s view of proper government contains divisions which can be seen a sort of classism. Each individual is born into a particular part, or class, within the State, and it is in that part that he or she will reside for life. To emphasize the point, Plato puts forth the story that humans are born with iron, bronze, silver, or gold within their souls. Gold is mixed into the souls of philosophers and rulers, silver in the souls of soldiers, and iron and bronze in the souls of farmers and craftsmen (79). To ensure that the lower class does not aspire to rule, or that the rulers are not lured into the physical/material pleasures of the appetite, Plato states in his story that the “most important command from the god to the rulers is that there is nothing that they must guard better or watch more carefully than the mixture of metals in the souls of the next generation” (79). If each person realizes what his or her place according to the metal in his or her soul, then there will be no revolution by the masses or takeover by the soldiers. All will know their proper places and be content in them, and the government will function in harmony.Machiavelli proposes a philosophy of rule that is somewhat similar to Plato in spirit, but is very much different in action. His key concern is stability of the government. A stable government is one that has the best chance to endure, and to keep the populace happy. A stable government also serves the best interests of the people who live under it. To this end, he suggests that a ruler guards against being “generally hated” by her or his subjects (p. 453). In addition, Machiavelli deems it wise for a ruler to live among his or her subjects (p. 429), in essence to know who they are and what they want from their government. Where Machiavelli and Plato seem to agree is that if one keeps the general populace happy, then there will be no major problems ...
