A Concept As Early As Plato: Plato's View of Two Cities
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates describes two cities. One city is described as being healthy and arranged by the needs of the people, its citizens. Their needs are described as being food, shelter, clothing, shoes and the arts. (DeWeese-Boyd and DeWeese-Boyd) The arts are described as being trades in which people work together and within their job trade, such as builders and farmers; they interact and cooperate as a community. Socrates view of the healthy city incorporates citizens who engage with each other and help each other by specializing in trades that can benefit the community. Need, for Socrates, is the maker of the city. (DeWeese-Boyd and DeWeese-Boyd) The need to have companionship, to interact, to provide for each other and to specialize in a trade is based on the individual abilities of each citizen. This metaphor illustrates a group of people, or a city that only gathers the necessary needs to survive and leave alone what would be excess. It also incorporates the unity of a community to be self-sustaining. In this city there is no "I" it is a "we". We strive together for a better tomorrow and enjoy the benefits of hard-work.
The second city is described as being the luxurious city, mainly recognized as being “feverish”, that consumes that which is not necessary. In order to accommodate their unnecessary needs the city must have more of everything including lands to grow more, citizens with more time to produce entertainment, and citizens who dedicate their lives to personal gratification and not to the need of the city. Socrates even speculates that in needing more land, they would conquer their neighbor’s lands and greed would spread to their neighbors and create “…endless aquisition.” (DeWeese-Boyd and DeWeese-Boyd). Endless acquisition becomes the continuous fight for land, wealth, and resources, which can create wars. It seems as though this depiction represents most of the world today. World War II was a result of Hitler's Regime who not only wanted a glorious Germany but a powerful Germany that conquered all of its neighboring countries. The idea that humanity has gone to war for lands is not a new idea but was since speculated in Socrates' and Plato's times. The need to have more than what is necessary to live creates conflict within humanity.
In recent years a study conducted by WWF states that human demand on the biosphere has more than doubled between 1961 and 2007. (WWF Living Planet Report). Human population has been growing exponentially in the past several decades. The biosphere, though not named by Socrates, cannot regenerate or regain its natural resources as fast as these resources are being depleted by the world population. The more people there are the more resources are needed. The more 'luxerious' that humanity craves the less the Earth has to offer.
Socrates gives examples of both cities to demonstrate a just and unjust individual. Individuals make up cities and because of their implications in the city generate the morals, beliefs, and the productivity in the city. The city in which we live in today can be described as a healthy city or a feverish city because of the citizens that populate it. The same can be said for states and even countries. It is the citizens that, through their actions, label which type of city, state, or nation they live in. A city that over-consumes destroys itself and others with its endless acquisitions. A city that proves to be healthy allows for basic needs to be meet and cooperation for a sustainable environment. These are not unlikely scenarios but one that each of us needs to consider in how we chose to meet our needs.
The second city is described as being the luxurious city, mainly recognized as being “feverish”, that consumes that which is not necessary. In order to accommodate their unnecessary needs the city must have more of everything including lands to grow more, citizens with more time to produce entertainment, and citizens who dedicate their lives to personal gratification and not to the need of the city. Socrates even speculates that in needing more land, they would conquer their neighbor’s lands and greed would spread to their neighbors and create “…endless aquisition.” (DeWeese-Boyd and DeWeese-Boyd). Endless acquisition becomes the continuous fight for land, wealth, and resources, which can create wars. It seems as though this depiction represents most of the world today. World War II was a result of Hitler's Regime who not only wanted a glorious Germany but a powerful Germany that conquered all of its neighboring countries. The idea that humanity has gone to war for lands is not a new idea but was since speculated in Socrates' and Plato's times. The need to have more than what is necessary to live creates conflict within humanity.
In recent years a study conducted by WWF states that human demand on the biosphere has more than doubled between 1961 and 2007. (WWF Living Planet Report). Human population has been growing exponentially in the past several decades. The biosphere, though not named by Socrates, cannot regenerate or regain its natural resources as fast as these resources are being depleted by the world population. The more people there are the more resources are needed. The more 'luxerious' that humanity craves the less the Earth has to offer.
Socrates gives examples of both cities to demonstrate a just and unjust individual. Individuals make up cities and because of their implications in the city generate the morals, beliefs, and the productivity in the city. The city in which we live in today can be described as a healthy city or a feverish city because of the citizens that populate it. The same can be said for states and even countries. It is the citizens that, through their actions, label which type of city, state, or nation they live in. A city that over-consumes destroys itself and others with its endless acquisitions. A city that proves to be healthy allows for basic needs to be meet and cooperation for a sustainable environment. These are not unlikely scenarios but one that each of us needs to consider in how we chose to meet our needs.
DeWeese-Boyd, Ian and Margaret DeWeese-Boyd. "The Healthy City Versus the Luxurious City in Plato's Republic: Lessons About Consumption and Sustainability for a Globalizing Economy." Contemporary Justice Review (2007): 115-130.
WWF Living Planet Report. Gland, Switzerland: World Wide Fund For Nature, 2010.
WWF Living Planet Report. Gland, Switzerland: World Wide Fund For Nature, 2010.