Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Inner Politics

Starts with the idea that we can inspects things on a larger scale in order to understand them in a smaller one. To understand morality for a person we will explore it first in a community. «One common discussion point around Republic is whether the imagined community is intented to be realized or if it just serves as a mental model.»

A human has several needs and cannot be self-sufficient. The community will need multiple people doing different jobs to satisfy the needs of necessary goods and services. The community will need sailors, merchants, stallkeepers to facilitate trade with other communities.

The principle of specialication is introduced where it is agreed that everyone in the community should work on one thing only and that it should be what they are talented at.

The description of the consumption of the community goes from necessities to indulgence. "A community for pigs". Healthy moral community contra indulgence. The indulgent community cannot live of its own land and must grab from its neighbor. If the neighbor is also indulgent then they will want to grab land too, thus indulgence is the cause of war. War necessitates a warrior class, guardians of the community, which will require even more land to be sustained. The specialication principle applies to the guardians as well, protecting the community will be their sole vocation and expertise.

The mentality of the guardians will have to be gentle to their citizens and aggressive to enemies. These two natures are mutually exclusive but it is found in dogs who hate the stranger and love their friends. Since they must learn to tell people apart dogs must be intelligent and lovers of learning. The same applies to the guardians who must also be philosophes. «I feel like anyone can be called a philsopher in this manner. A carpenter must learn to distinguish good and bad wood and is therefore a philosopher for example.»

Observations:

Republic does not start with joining might is right with hedonism, but the union makes it's appearance here. Its clear that Plato holds might is right and hedonism to be connected, given this chapter and Callicles in Gorgias. Then why make Thrasymachus only espouse might is right if the hedonism connection appears later anyways?

«Where did the land for the moral community come from? Why is it only now that it must be grabbed from others? Perhaps its more than just land grabbing, the other communities will be enslaved to provide surplus to the indulgent one.»