Conference paper

PLATO VERSUS PLUTOCRACY

Davor Ljubimir ; Media and Social Culture Studies, University of Dubrovnik,Croatia

Abstract

In “The Republic” Plato primarily discussed the idea of justice, by exposing correlations between human soul and political order. He relates the realm of private property, market relationships, and profit-oriented mind with the lowest social class, which corresponds to the domain of lust and pleasure in human soul. Higher rated social classes or abilities of soul are only responsible for the well-being of society and for the establishment of harmony in human soul. In “Laws” he developed an idea of a permanent training against the domination of excessive pleasure, as the basic condition for setting up a society in accordance with human nature. The neoliberal concept of economic order not only questions, but silently denies such or similar perceptions of humanity. Emphasizing market as a regulator of all social relationships and human values, it presumes the highest value of greedy accumulation of money, power, or material possessions. Simultaneously, it implies plutocracy as an ideal of social order. In this paper we intend to discuss that contrast, including the opposition of Keynesianism and Friedmanism in modern economics.

Keywords

human nature; social order; neoliberalism

Hrčak ID:

161419

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/161419

Publication date:

27.9.2013.

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