Plato is a Fascist

Today in class we tried to determine where philosophers fell on the political spectrum. We spent a couple minutes thinking aloud about where some philosophers fit, but we ran out of time. I think it deserves a little more attention.

It is especially difficult to determine where philosophers fall into the political spectrum. They do not neatly fall into an ideology (except Marx, of course) but I think I’ll give it a shot.

Today we talked about Plato being conservative or authoritarian. We concluded that he favors a meritocracy (which may indicate conservatism) but he also gives political power to the elites, the philosopher kings (which is authoritarian)

I think that Plato is more than just conservative. His views are too extreme to fall under that category. Similarly, labeling him as “authoritarian” is too vague. That term does not mean much of anything (since the term “authoritarian” describes the qualities of a political system. Authoritarianism is not a particular ideology like classical liberalism or communism).

Bertrand Russell, being the pompous jackass that he is, likened Plato to a “modern day fascist” in his History of Western Philosophy. I think Russell on to something. From the selection we read in class, Plato seems to advocate a fascist-like political system.

But before I talk about Plato’s fascism, I probably should briefly cover fascism.

In the 20^th century, there were two decent examples of fascist states: Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy (it should be noted that although the Nazi’s were called socialists by name, they were a fascist party under Hitler)

Fascist states have common features. They often believe in the superiority of a particular race. Fascists value certain races or classes above others. Thus, they create a social hierarchy to separate the superior from the inferior. In some cases, fascist states advocate eugenics as also a solution for purging society of the “lesser race/s.”

Fascist states are also characterized by strong governments controlled by a few elites. They are generally ruled by one or several people. To win support or compliance from the masses, they rely on propaganda. Through this indoctrination, they can maintain power and keep the lower classes “in their place.”

I. The Superiority of the Philosopher Kings

Plato’s city, as described in The Republic, has a number of these fascist characteristics. He believes in the superiority of the Philosopher Kings. According to Plato, the philosopher kings would rule the city. It is an authoratarian rule (as opposed to a democratic one). They would hold the power and influence, so they could rule the lower classes of society without any sorts of checks and balances.

However, Plato’s notion concerning the superiority of the guardians extends beyond the political realm. He believed that only the philosopher kings went to heaven when they died. They would ascend into heaven and live among the gods; while other (lower) classes were reincarnated as animals. Clearly, Plato valued the guardians over the classes of society not just politically, but in every way. By doing this, he assigned a value to certain groups of people.

In The History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell points out that Plato deals with the weak in a harsh, fascist-like manner. Plato advocates the use of eugenics to weed out the weak. In the Republic, he argues that children that are physically or mentally handicapped are to be “put away in some mysterious or unknown place, as they ought to be.” (112) The goal is to rid society of the sick and inferior. The elimination of the weak and handicapped was a policy also used by both Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.

II. Propaganda and Plato

To mandate compliance from the subjects, the philosopher kings indoctrinated the lower classes. The guardians would tell a “noble lie” to maintain the status quo. They tell the subjects that their status in society was in accordance with God’s will. God chose who would be the gold people, the silver, and the brass people. Plato argued that this myth would be accepted after only a few generations. By telling the auxiliaries and craftspeople that they were biologically inferior, the elites stressed the superiority of a class. The guardians secured their role as the powerful and chosen leaders of the city.

Similarly, the Nazi’s created a cult of personality around Adolf Hitler. Hitler was treated like a god. Each year on his birthday, the state mandated that the German citizens must pray for their Fuhrer. He was a god-like figure in Germany.

Plato’s Fascism

Plato’s city clearly has fascist political leanings. The commonalities between the City and other fascist states are clear. Like Nazi’s and Italians under Mussolini, Plato stresses the political and biological superiority of the elites, advocates eugenics for weeding out the weak, and he supports the use of propaganda to indoctrinate the lower rungs of society.

Russel was right. Plato was similar to a modern day fascist.