Describing the ideal state, Plato divides the inhabitants into three classes, as well as he divides the human soul into three parts. The third estate or the lower class includes artisans, farmers and other people, working mainly with their own hands (common people). The second class is soldiers that guard the state. And finally the first one is guardians (philosophers). The first estate comprises people who are not interested in their personal gain and whose main and the only interest is the achievement of the common good. According to Plato’s «Allegory of the Cave» only philosophers can understand what the common good is and make people follow them «from darkness to light»1. …show more content…
If the state is governed by the soldiers, it becomes very bellicose. The guards start thinking about their own interests — so, they claim to have private property. Thus, the oligarchy — the power of the rich — forms in the state. It leads to discontent of the lower class, and a war may break out between the poor and the rich. In this war the poor are the winners because of their numerical superiority. Common people take control over the republic and it leads to the power of the majority. This is exactly from what Plato wants to protect the state - from Democracy. As for Plato, the majority cannot see the common good. In this case, the state either falls apart, or tyranny sets