ABSTRACT
Plato believed that the world would never be perfect until philosophers were kings, and kings philosophers ; he therefore looked forward to the day when a race of supermen would inherit the earth. He realized, however, that even in his ideal society the soldiers of the spirit would still have to be housed, clothed, and fed; hence he provided in his constitution for a large group of slaves which would attend to the material needs of the select minority. Plato could not envisage a classless utopia. His realism led him to believe that only a class which possessed wealth and leisure, and was therefore able to devote itself to the cultivation of the spirit, could create a great civilization.
