The Number of Rulers in Plato's Statesman
In: Polis: the journal for ancient greek political thought, Band 37, Heft 3, S. 435-448
ISSN: 2051-2996
Abstract
This essay poses the question of how many rulers are envisaged in Plato's Statesman. After pointing out that this is a crucial question for issues concerning non-ideal as well as ideal approaches to political rule, the essay focuses on three relevant aspects of rule in the Statesman: the notion of kingly rule, the limitations posed by human nature, and the importance of self-rule. It is shown how each of these dimensions of Plato's discussion demonstrates the complexity of the question. Particular attention is then given to features inherent to political rule: the need for subordinate functions and a distribution of offices, seen in light of the ends of political rule as helping citizens obtain their potential. It is argued that while the Statesman does not lead to any certain conclusion concerning the number of rulers, and some of its considerations conflict with each other, the text as a whole allows for a fairly broad basis of political rule.