The common good as the backbone of Plato's Laws

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/2525-8036.2023.45907

Keywords:

Commom, Well, Laws, Plato

Abstract

Plato considered the common good as a unifying instance of community life in the polis and, therefore, as a fundamental objective towards which laws, the State and citizens should converge. The community sense in the search for the common good in Plato’s Laws is decisively opposed to the atomization of contemporary life. The objective of this article is to investigate how Plato mobilizes the common good as the main purpose of the set of laws (nomoi) of the polis. To this end, it begins with a brief introduction to the normative framework in the Dialogue As Leis and its teleological relationship with the common good. It then unravels two mechanisms involved in the construction of the common good: education and state regulation of the distribution of wealth. Afterwards, it seeks to summarize the main aspects of what constitutes the common good for Plato. Finally, it concludes with the need to rescue the notion of common good as a prominent philosophical-political category for the construction of a new society.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Gustavo Livio, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Promotor de Justiça no Ministério Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Ex-Defensor Público do Estado da Bahia. Mestrando na UFRJ, Brasil, com pesquisa em Economia e Direito. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5359-7493. Contato: gustavo.livio@gmail.com.

References

ARAÚJO, Carolina. Liberdade de indiferença e autoridade individual: a República de Platão sobre a democracia. In: SEBASTIANI, Breno Battistinet (coord.). A Poiesis da Democracia. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2019.

ARAÚJO, Carolina. Philosopher-kings: a Communitarian Political Project. In: REID, Heather L; TANASI, Davide. Philosopher Kings and Tragic Heroes: Essays on Images and Ideas from Western Greece. Fonte Aretusa: Parnassos Press, 2016.

CNN, 2021, URL: https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/business/10-mais-ricos-controlam-76-da-riqueza-global-50-mais-pobres-ficam-com-2/#:~:text=Os%2010%25%20mais%20ricos%20da,sua%20vez%2C%20possuem%2022%25

DARDOT, Piérre; LAVAL, Christian. A Nova Razão do Mundo: ensaio sobre a sociedade neoliberal. 1ª ed. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2016.

DE COULANGES, Fustel. A Cidade Antiga: estudos sobre o culto, o direito e as instituições da Grécia e de Roma. Trad. Roberto Leal Ferreira. São Paulo: Martin Claret, 2009.

DOISTOIÉVSKI, Fiodor. Crime e Castigo. Trad. Rubens Figueiredo. São Paulo: Ed. Todavia, 2019.

JAEGER, Werner. Paidéia, a Formação do Homem Grego. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1995.

PLATÃO. A República. Trad. Edson Bini. 3ª ed. São Paulo: Edipro, 2019.

PLATÃO. As Leis. Trad. Edson Bini. 3ª ed. São Paulo: Edipro, 2021.

WOOD, Ellen. Democracia contra Capitalismo: a renovação do materialismo histórico. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2011.

Published

2023-10-27

How to Cite

LIVIO, G. The common good as the backbone of Plato’s Laws. Revista de Ciências do Estado, Belo Horizonte, v. 8, n. 2, p. 1–27, 2023. DOI: 10.35699/2525-8036.2023.45907. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/revice/article/view/e45907. Acesso em: 20 may. 2024.