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Single Idea 245

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / C. Ruling a State / 2. Leaders / c. Despotism ]

Full Idea

Excessively authoritarian government destroys all friendship and community of spirit in the state.

Gist of Idea

Totalitarian states destroy friendships and community spirit

Source

Plato (The Laws [c.348 BCE], 697d)

Book Ref

Plato: 'The Laws', ed/tr. Saunders,Trevor J [Penguin 1970], p.149

The 45 ideas from 'The Laws'

8004 In 'The Laws', to obey the law is to be obey god [Plato, by MacIntyre]
235 Virtue is the aim of all laws [Plato]
236 Sound laws achieve the happiness of those who observe them [Plato]
238 Children's games should channel their pleasures into adult activity [Plato]
239 Education in virtue produces citizens who are active but obedient [Plato]
4331 Education is channelling a child's feelings into the right course before it understands why [Plato]
4332 Virtue is a concord of reason and emotion, with pleasure and pain trained to correct ends [Plato]
240 It would be strange if the gods rewarded those who experienced the most pleasure in life [Plato]
241 We ought to follow where the argument leads us [Plato]
15447 We shouldn't always follow where the argument leads! [Lewis on Plato]
242 The best people are produced where there is no excess of wealth or poverty [Plato]
243 It is foolish to quarrel with the mind's own reasoning processes [Plato]
245 Totalitarian states destroy friendships and community spirit [Plato]
248 A serious desire for moral excellence is very rare indeed [Plato]
249 People who value beauty above virtue insult the soul by placing the body above it [Plato]
250 The best way to educate the young is not to rebuke them, but to set a good example [Plato]
251 Truth has the supreme value, for both gods and men [Plato]
253 Every crime is the result of excessive self-love [Plato]
254 Excessive laughter and tears must be avoided [Plato]
256 Virtue and great wealth are incompatible [Plato]
257 Mathematics has the widest application of any subject on the curriculum [Plato]
1402 Friendship is impossible between master and slave, even if they are made equal [Plato]
259 Justice is granting the equality which unequals deserve [Plato]
260 Control of education is the key office of state, and should go to the best citizen [Plato]
262 Men and women should qualify equally for honours on merit [Plato]
263 The only worthwhile life is one devoted to physical and moral perfection [Plato]
264 The conquest of pleasure is the noblest victory of all [Plato]
265 An action is only just if it is performed by someone with a just character and outlook [Plato]
266 Injustice is the mastery of the soul by bad feelings, even if they do not lead to harm [Plato]
269 Attempted murder is like real murder, but we should respect the luck which avoided total ruin [Plato]
21257 Self-generating motion is clearly superior to all other kinds of motion [Plato]
21258 The only possible beginning for the endless motions of reality is something self-generated [Plato]
273 Movement is transmitted through everything, and it must have started with self-generated motion [Plato]
21259 To grasp a thing we need its name, its definition, and what it really is [Plato]
21260 Soul is what is defined by 'self-generating motion' [Plato]
21261 Self-moving soul has to be the oldest thing there is [Plato]
274 Soul must be the cause of all the opposites, such as good and evil or beauty and ugliness [Plato]
21262 There must be at least two souls controlling the cosmos, one doing good, the other the opposite [Plato]
21263 If all the motions of nature reflect calculations of reason, then the best kind of soul must direct it [Plato]
21264 Mortals are incapable of being fully rational [Plato]
21265 The heavens must be full of gods, controlling nature either externally or from within [Plato]
275 Creation is not for you; you exist for the sake of creation [Plato]
276 My individuality is my soul, which carries my body around [Plato]
277 The Guardians must aim to discover the common element in the four cardinal virtues [Plato]
278 If astronomical movements are seen as necessary instead of by divine will, this leads to atheism [Plato]