Allegory of the Cave, the evaluation by Plato and Socrates of politics and ethics are very relevant to the policies of the Bush Administration. An immoral war, tax breaks for the wealthy and a hard stance on the punishment of criminals rather than the prevention of crime are all examples of Bush's policies that make Plato and Socrates seem as though they are analyzing actual current events.
The Bush-supported war is morally wrong. His reasoning for entering the war was based on ignorance, which supports Plato's theory that anyone who behaves immorally does it because they are ignorant. Weapons of mass destruction, the original justification for invading Iraq, were never found. Economically, the war has driven up debt, signaling a need for higher interest rates and a cut in social programs to help the poor. Surely, a more scholarly approach to Iraq would have meant a different course of action with a better outcome.
Just as Socrates said, tension between the haves and the have nots is on the rise. Today, the income gap has steadily increased between the richest Americans, who...
Census Bureau data shows that the wealthiest twenty percent of households in 1973 accounted for forty-four percent of total U.S. income. Their share jumped to fifty percent in 2002, while everyone else's fell.
Prices for health care, housing, tuition, gas and food have increased dramatically, placing a tremendous burden on the poor and the working class. However, the rich, thanks to Bush's tax cuts favoring the wealthy appear to fit the characterization of Socrates as basing their lives on consumption of goods as others struggle to make ends meet. The sales of luxury items are booming. Porsche Cars North America Inc. had sales that were up seventeen percent for the year. And, strong sales at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue overshadowed lackluster sales at stores such as Wal-Mart, Sears and Payless Shoes.
Further, as Socrates predicts, the poor are becoming beggars or criminals and their right to vote has been taken away. The number of Americans living in poverty increased…
Plato's The Cave The chief theme addressed in the "Allegory of the Cave" by Plato is that: mankind often fails to comprehend the world's actual reality, believing they grasp whatever they come across, see and feel around them. In truth, humanity simply recognizes shadows of different entities' actual forms. Plato's work depicts captives shackled such that all they are able to view is the cave's rear wall, upon which dance shadows cast
He will be a servant to other servants. Without humility, however, the "servant" will become vain and proud; his vision of truth will likely become distorted by hubris. He will be no good to himself or to others. He will fight with other warrior-kings but for power and influence rather than for truth, beauty and goodness. Humility, in a sense, will keep him honest and in the light (even
Plato's Cave And Political Speech Plato's allegory of the cave is applicable to many situations and events and has been used to comment on the political state of unions throughout the history of time. The most recent and tragic event of the assassination attempt of Gabrielle Giffords, amongst others, brought to light the ignorance of controversial politician Sara Palin. In articles by Mort Rosenblum and Cathy Lynn Grossman following the shooting
Similarly, the analogy can be made with anyone who continues to live an unhealthy lifestyle or pursue bad relationships. The image of the light is a strong one in Plato's cave story. Light symbolizes knowledge, power, and information. Light symbolizes the truth. The word "enlightenment" refers to the person who sees the light, who sees the truth. Discovering the source of light proves that the shadows are merely illusions --
In essence this means that humanity lives in a state of illusion that has been technologically constructed by an intelligence that provides people with an illusionary reality. In the film it appears that humanity is being kept in a state of illusion in order to be used as an energy source. We can relate the scenario in the Matrix to the cave allegory in that the entire world has become
Just as their problems are caused by humans, their problems can also be solved by humans. This fact is exemplified by the existence of politics, where people learn to befriend and utilize people who would otherwise do them harm. Skill at politics, as Shorris noted, is what distinguished the rich from the poor: "Rich people know…how to negotiate instead of using force. They know how to use politics to get