The Failure

"Your Republic failed, Plato," continued Alexander, "because it lacked execution. Correct me if I am mistaken, but at the end of your book, you tell us that the means to executing such a utopian society is by simply banishing everyone from Athens, correct?"

Socrates interjected, "Actually, it was I who prescribed that course of action - but yes, that is correct."

"That is not execution. That is not execution by any means."

"Why do you say that, and what would you have done differently?" asked Plato.

Alexander stared at him intensely. "You distinguish between three classes, Plato, three types of souls - the merchants, governed by appetite, the warriors, governed by spirit, and the philosophers, governed by wisdom. Ask yourself why we live in a world where the merchants control the warriors to suppress the academics, philosophers, teachers. The answer is quite simple. The merchants know how to sell. They speak the language of the body, of the physical realm. Their heads are not in the cloud of ideas, disjointed from reality, shadows on a wall as it may be. They are aggressive, and they can relate to the majority of people."

"But the intellect must not be at odds with the appetite."

"Precisely. And the mind must not disregard the body, nor should it disregard the heart. Appetite, spirit, and wisdom must be in harmony for any individual to be fully empowered."

"I suppose that is how you conquered the world, Alexander," said Pythagoras.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. What I know is that academics are weak and useless if they do not think or act like businesspeople and soldiers. Money is not evil. Weapons are not evil."

"So, in 2019 language," said Musk, "what you're saying is that Wall Street, the Pentagon, and Cambridge must all be synchronized."

"I am not sure what you mean," continued Alexander, "but I know the reason Plato failed to execute his vision is that he did not have buy-in from the merchant and warrior classes, whom the majority of Athen's politicians represented."

"Can you provide a concrete example of such a means in action," asked Aristotle.

"I can," I said.