Plato’s Republic

“The Fall of Constitutions”
“It is hard for a city composed in this way to change,
but everything that comes into being must decay.
Not even a constitution such as this will last forever.
It, too, must face dissolution.”
Plato’s Republic, VIII.546a
In Books VIII & IX of the Republic, Socrates, Glaucon, and Adeimantus describe the way in which the city they have been founding collapses. One
step leads to another, and the analysis is as much about the persons in the city as it is about the city itself. The purpose of this essay is for you to
recount this degeneration.
In the first two thirds of the paper, show the way in which changes in the values or desires of the ruling class—how they ‘constitute’ themselves—
necessarily leads to an alteration in the society’s way of life—how it is constituted. You should attend closely to the different kinds of souls and cities,
starting with timocracy; we have already said quite a bit about the guardian city. Most of your focus should be on Book VIII, with a small focus on Book
IX when necessary.
the Republic is not a text to be read as if it were a relic of times past. Plato portrays the souls and cities not as historically relative phenomena but as
perennial patterns or models of what motivates people’s choices and guides political entities. Therefore, in the final third of the paper, select one of
the character/society types and give an example of how we see it reflected in our world today. You might, for instance, consider a particular news
article, the discourse of contemporary politicians, distinct coronavirus policy responses, etc. This will require you to do a small amount of research, but
all that is necessary is that you link the text, in a concrete and specific way, to something from our contemporary moment.
Format: 1500 words; 12 point, Times New Roman Font; Double Space; No Name
Instructions: Introduction and conclusion; quote text with marginal notations; no formal works cited or bibliography, check spelling and grammar.