Bloom's extensive footnotes and his interesting interpretive essay make this a pretty awesome edition of the Republic. ( )

Bought it for a class in Greek Civ. Can't beat it with a stick. ( )

Plato's The Republic is a staple in philosophical literature. The Allegory of the Cave, the story of a man finally reaching his enlightenment but wanting to return to the cave (or ignorance), has been exemplified in recent years: people remain ignorant of certain facts, and when confronted with them, they continue to enjoy the cave. This is not a very comforting thought. ( )

It's totalitarian, it's fearful, it's deceitful, it's violent, it censors the people and turn them into objects, its rhetorical, it advocates eugenics, and its egotististical--as Plato seems to ironically put Philosophers like himself in the master's throne. It's a horrific nightmare that betrays the author's master, Socrates. Why the five stars? Because it has managed to influence every nook and cranny of politics and its vicious underbelly-- it is essential for that reason. Anyone who has read The Republic knows the score. ( )

Allegory allegory everybody's coming to get me. i got out of the cave back in the mid 00's.

a classique as long as you don't take it literally and understand that Plato's aims are political here but at the same time he's making a statement about how the world, well the ideal city anyway, would be WITHOUT ART. Plato doesn't especially believe this is a good thing, because who wants to live in a perfect city anyway? ( )