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What are the features of Plato's ideal society?

Plato's ideal society is built on the ideal of justice. Just as he believed the soul was composed of three hierarchical parts—appetitive, rational, and spiritual—he believed a just society should be composed of three corresponding classes: the guardians (philosophers charged with governing the republic), the auxiliaries (soldiers who defend the republic), and the producers (farmers/craftsmen, etc.). This class structure should be kept in harmony through strict, totalitarian laws and robust censorship (poets, for instance, were banished from the republic).


Moreover, Plato eliminated virtually every distinction between public and private life, as this distinction could serve to corrupt the harmony of the republic. Consequently, Plato's society abolished the traditional family; both wives and children would be communal. Further, private property was abolished insofar as was possible. This emphasis on public rather than private life was meant to cause the citizens to put the republic before their own selfish interests.

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