ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that throughout Plato's career, he was deeply concerned with a range of political problems for which he is commonly not given credit. It also argues that Plato was serious about implementing the ideal state sketched in the Republic, and that in his works a realistic assessment of the political obstacles is found that stood in the way of establishing it. Plato's proposals concerning the implementation of the ideal state have been interpreted in a variety of ways through the years. In Plato's ideal city, as in all political arrangements, each individual is impelled to make certain sacrifices for the good of the whole. It is clear that once the ideal state is underway, the philosopher-kings find themselves in an exalted position. The state as a whole is structured so as to afford the easiest possible rule of their divine wisdom.
