Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 1

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

Taylor, C.C.W. “Plato’s Totalitarianism.” In Plato 2: Ethics, Politics, Religion, and the Soul. Ed. Gail Fine. NY: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Karl Popper (b. Austria, New Zealand, England, 1902 - 1994) leveled a famous attack on Plato in his The Open Society and its Enemies (1945). Plato’s Republic is a totalitarian state

& Plato is the root of totalitarianism in the West.

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 2

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

All political decisions are made by the rulers alone

The rulers are not elected The power of the rulers is absolute The rulers use deceit & censorship The individual is completely subject

to the state (“The individual is nothing but a cog” [in the state machine]); individuality is suppressed for the common good.

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 3

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

Taylor: This broadside assault on Plato’s Republic is a bit to simplistic. There are different types of totalitarianism. T1 (Orwellian)

Individual well-being is completely subordinated to the interests of the state; individuals only have instrumental value

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 4

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

The well-being of the state is defined in terms of power, prestige, & security

E.g.s - Orwell’s Oceania & Nazi Germany

T2 (organic) The well-being of the individual is

defined in terms of the individual’s contribution to the state

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 5

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

The individual is part of an organic unity & accordingly the happiness & well-being of the individual is important.

The good of the individual and of the state are assumed to be the same.

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 6

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

T3 (paternalistic) The good of the individual is

ultimately valuable & that of the state derivative.

The function of the state is to promote the well-being of its citizens.

Denies that individual autonomy is important for human happiness & well-being.

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 7

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

Assumes that an elite group knows what is good for themselves & for all citizens.

Is individualist in the sense that it give primacy to the good of individuals; but it is opposed to individualism in its denial of political freedom, self-expression, & self-determination.

Is a form of paternalism

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 8

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

Where does Plato’s Republic fit? Popper puts it in T1. Taylor rejects this

Justice for the individual is a form of psychic harmony & this is for the good of the individual (287).

Plato expresses concern about the happiness of the guardians & rulers (response to Adeimantus’s objection)

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 9

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

Plato repeatedly expresses concern for the well-being of the entire polis, the whole community & the goal of the polis is for its citizens to achieve eudaimonia (290).

But for Plato, individuals are not capable of deciding their own eudaimonia. They need to be guided by the guardians (rulers).

Taylor on Plato's totalitarianism ~ slide 10

Taylor on Plato’s totalitarianism

Thus the need for a ruling elite to organize society so that it is directed to the good.

So Plato’s system is highly paternalistic. What’s wrong with paternalism?

So to which of the forms of totalitarianism does Plato’s Republic belong?