Is liberty a bad thing? Socrates seemed to think so. In Book VIIIof Platos Republic, Socrates criticizes democracy by attacking three ofits most important aspects: liberty, equality, and majority rule. Heasserts that because of these things, a democratic city will always fallinto tyranny. I disagree, and feel that all three of the principles areessential to a fair and just city, and only in their absence can a city betaken into tyranny. Socrates begins his observations on the defects of a democraticgovernment by first attacking liberty. His main argument is that there isentirely too much of it. People in a democracy are free to do what theywish in their lives and are free to chose what if any job they will do. Socrates asks if, like the man with the democratic soul, they will not just pass the time and not get much done (Plato, 557e). This may be true, but people who do not work do not eat. InSocrates city, much like in a communist regime, all of the people in acity are responsible for the common good of all of the other members oftheir city. A man who does nothing would truly be a burden on thissociety, but unlike in Socrates city, or a communist state, in a capitalistdemocracy people are responsible for their own survival, and a manmust work if he is to have a food, shelter, and all of the othernecessities of life.When describing his just city, Socrates was very much in favor ofspecialization of labor (Plato, 367e-372b), so for a man to try manythings would go against his concept of what belongs in a good city. ButShouldnt one try ones hand at many tasks until one find a job that bestfulfills ones soul? In Alienated Labor, Karl Marx argues that separationof labor is fundamentally wrong in that it alienates the laborer not onlyfrom his labor, but also from himself and society as a whole(Good Life,272). Socrates himself claims that a just soul must find work that isbest for the rational part of the soul (Plato, 434d-44...
