Plato Vs Nozick Essay - 1152 Words

Utopia is â€Å"an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.† according to en.oxforddictionaries.com. Although this is the ideal definition, there are many varying definitions of what a utopia is. Throughout history, many philosophers have argued their different views on what utopia is. This paper argues why two philosophers Plato and Nozick, disagree on utopia and how they might challenge one another’s ideas. The Republic is considered one of the first pieces of philosophy that touch on utopia. In order to create the perfect city, in which Plato describe as a polis, he argues would be run by a perfectly developed society. To achieve this perfectly developed society, there needs to be specialization and class†¦show more content†¦For example, on page 396, it states â€Å"Neither the shoemaker nor the farmer should ever attempt to do one another’s job, because they would do so poorly, or, at the very least, do so without the job’s highest potential ever being fulfilled†. (396e) Plato argues that each individual can practice one pursuit well but cannot practice many of them well because being skilled at one thing is most important. If one â€Å"tried to do this and dabbled in many things, he would surely fail to achieve distinction in all of them† ( 394e). Plato might challenge another philosopher like Nozick, in questioning the effectiveness of a freeform society. Plato believes that having each citizen do a single job to the best of their ability, will allow the city to work like a perfect system. A free-flowing system would in Plato’s eyes be unorganized and chaotic, with no structure. In Anarchy, State and Utopia, Nozick discusses his ideal society. He begins by addressing a fundamental idea he believes occurs in any development of utopia. That is, people are different, and their preferences for an ideal community also differ. He states â€Å"The best of all possible worlds for me will not be that for you. The world, of all those I can imagine, which I would most prefer to live in, will not be precisely the one you would choose. Utopia, though, must be, in some restricted sense, the best for all of us; the best world imaginable, for each of us.† (Nozick, p.298). Nozick’s solution to this is a free-formShow More RelatedPrinciples of Microeconomics Fifth Canadian Edition20085 Words   |  81 Pagesanticompetition, 384–385 asymmetric information, 493–495 collusion, 378–379 common resources, 240–242 consumer choice, 475–476, 478–479 consumption tax, 255–256 corporate income tax, 261–263 deadweight loss, 171–173 discrimination, 429–431 drugs, monopoly vs. generic, 324–325 fixed and variable costs, 300 gasoline taxes, 216–217 gas prices, 122–123 Giffen good, 475–476 income effects on labour supply, 478–479 income redistribution, 437–438 income tax, 255–256 minimum wage, 127–130 monopolies, 324–325 payroll