The Perfection Case

The perfect reputation, the ideal leadership, and the flawless liberty. Those were the words that many have forgotten over the centuries, but those are the exact words that created society as it is today. One would not think that past philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Hobbes, would play a role in creating the society we have today, but they did the contrary; their words influenced many people and shaped humankind. Their writings created motives and ideas that people had to decipher like a puzzle; it was difficult, but possible.

The perfect society: A leadership capable of strength and a system designed to optimize the happiness of its citizens. This was Plato's perspective of a citizen which was perfection or the willingness to achieve it. After reading such a powerful and strong piece of writing, the Republic, what I gathered to be perfect was considered as a list. It listed things that form perfection which were knowledge, wisdom, truth, honor and gains. These qualities were not meant to form wealth because the gain of wealth results in corruption. These qualities were meant to form the perfect person. In Plato's eyes the perfect person was one who believed in the truth and willing to learn new approaches of life which gained them the wisdom of the ancients and honored them. Property was not the key to happiness; it should not matter, along with money. Plato said not everyone is meant to lead, some are meant to follow and those who are leaders should not believe in a democracy but value the perfect society. "Then, besides other qualities, we must try…"(518)

A good man is someone who is willing to purse good virtue and finding happiness. These are the words of Aristotle. In his eyes, certain citizens should rule or be ruled upon. Aristotle believed that someone who is self-sufficient, lives, and speaks simply should have the right to rule. He wasn't certain of laborers due to their position in society. To him it didn't matter if you were lower or upper class, as long as you were performing the necessary tasks of daily lives, you were not considered to be a sufficient ruler. In other words, laborers were not allowed to be elected for political rule. This led Aristotle to believe in the power of the middle class. To him, the lower class were the citizens who were poor but willing to work to become wealthy by gaining political rule. In addition to power, they would also gain property which was usually owned by the upper class. Aristotle considered the upper class to be corrupt because of their greed. He knew that the upper class would ask for more than the average citizen could afford. In conclusion, Aristotle believed that the middle class were best fit to rule. "It is admitted that moderation and the mean are the best…"(528). They didn't have much but, they didn't