What politicians could learn from Plato

I am willing to bet that the vast majority of politicians in the world today do not give much thought to the relationship between governance and the nature of human beings.

That is, how should one govern, given specific abilities, inclinations and dispositions on the part of the governed and the governing? Plato considered this to be crucial.

Those who recognise the name of Plato will probably know that he was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE. They may also know that Socrates was his teacher and that he (Plato), in turn, was Aristotle’s teacher, who later happened to be the teacher of the Macedonian prince who became Alexander the Great. So much for trivia. What most people don’t know, is that Plato could teach politicians a thing or two about governance.

Editor's Comment
UDC's 100 Days: Please deliver your promises!

We duly congratulate them to have ousted the long ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) from power. Prior to taking power from the BDP, the coalition had made several election promises that are credited for influencing change and swaying the people to vote in its favour.The party had made an undertaking, which its leader and President Duma Boko consistently bellowed in his campaign trail. These undertakings were promises that Batswana would be...

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