PLATO: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

"In this general account of Plato's political thought, a leading scholar of ancient Greek philosophy explores its key themes: education, democracy and its shortcomings, the role of knowledge in government, utopia and the idea of community, money and its grip on the psyche, ideological uses of religion. Between them these define what Plato considered to be the fundamental challenges for politics. All remain live issues. On all of them Plato took radical and uncomfortable positions." "Assuming a broad range of readers - with backgrounds in varied fields (politics, philosophy, classics, history) - Malcolm Schofield articulates and analyses Plato's main lines of thought, illustrating them with a liberal use of translated excerpts, and highlighting affinities with modern theorists from Machiavelli and Mill to Rawls and Habermas. Schofield's distinctive approach to Plato's problems constitutes a lucid and accessible guide for those needing an introduction, and at the same time will provide those who know Plato well with much food for thought."--Jacket.