Through everything I've read of Plato thusfar, Plato seems to be fighting against a natural degeneration of society. He sees democracy as a descent into chaos and nothingness driven by caprice and whims of the masses. Sophists seem all too happy to soothe the egos of the masses by playing both sides of the field. Demogogues are willing to press on with their realpolitik "might makes right" message (courtesy of Thucydides and his treatment of the Peloponnesian War). The only way Plato sees fit to fight this degeneration into schoolyard politics is by reaching toward some objective perfection. The world does seem to be always changing, thus Plato needs to reach to something permanent.
I admit to loathing Plato in undergrad due to his disgust with the masses, but it takes just a couple of years in adulthood to realize that the average person is utterly incurious, requiring significant prodding and coaxing before doing the right thing. That's the effect and necessity of the gadfly in our society, and reason enough to stand against the sortition model of democracy. At the very least, elections require candidates to lay out their positions for scrutiny; a sortition model gives legitimacy to representatives who are responsible for no more than drawing a breath.
Critias describes the ordered society, Plato's ideal from the Republic, which just so happens to be the lost city of Atlantis. It's funny how these described "ideal societies" tend to have bountiful agriculture and untold treasures of precious metal, two of the three items (plus fuel) that drive nations to war when they're shorthanded on supply. Try creating utopia with serious deficiencies in natural resources.
I admit to loathing Plato in undergrad due to his disgust with the masses, but it takes just a couple of years in adulthood to realize that the average person is utterly incurious, requiring significant prodding and coaxing before doing the right thing. That's the effect and necessity of the gadfly in our society, and reason enough to stand against the sortition model of democracy. At the very least, elections require candidates to lay out their positions for scrutiny; a sortition model gives legitimacy to representatives who are responsible for no more than drawing a breath.
Critias describes the ordered society, Plato's ideal from the Republic, which just so happens to be the lost city of Atlantis. It's funny how these described "ideal societies" tend to have bountiful agriculture and untold treasures of precious metal, two of the three items (plus fuel) that drive nations to war when they're shorthanded on supply. Try creating utopia with serious deficiencies in natural resources.