Plato knew that the root cause of the problems in Athens was corruption. Plato wants to make Athens an ideal state. With the above statement, Plato was providing a solution to make an ideal state and proposed an institution of a philosopher king.
To make an ideal state first method is to teach political king philosophy. Plato wants to combine politics with philosophy. Therefore he sends teachers to train political leaders the philosophical truths. The results were rarely what Plato could have desired, for the same irrational politics prevailed no matter what the philosopher thought and this disappointed him. He made two attempts in his life to teach political leaders the philosophy but he failed both times.
According to Plato, the present institution of politics is guided by sophist's methods. Sophists believe that the ultimate source of happiness is money. In their just society model, might is right. In pursuit of happiness, men can disobey the state law to follow their own interests. According to Plato, the institute of philosopher king will bring justice and real happiness. Philosopher king is the man of reason and therefore his knowledge is mightier than any law or ordinance. He is a symbol of sacrifice. Plato justifies this with his theory of communism. Philosopher king has no desire for family and property. According to Plato, family and property have an essence of self which can distract the king from his duty toward the state.
He has knowledge of philosophy. With this, he can provide real happiness to the people and make Athens an ideal state. According to Plato, a man of integrity is more important than a man of wealth or a man of property. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having high moral principles. The institute philosopher king holds such high standards.
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