... Plato calls his so-called perfect city or Utopia. In his "perfect" city there will be leaders who are promoted or "elected" to become the Guardians. These Guardians will be selected from society at large and will be taken away from the tasks of everyday life and trained until age fifty when they will become "elders" fit for rule. The minds of the ... vision of the ideal state, the Aristocracy of philosophers would begin to breakdown. His description follows a generational downward spiral where unworthy children of leaders will fail to perpetuate the virtues of their parents. Thus, child...

• Word Count: 1891
• Approx Pages: 8

... destructive, generally lowering the level of trust in anything we read or hear," says Karen Peterson in her essay "Would I lie to you?" In today's climate of dishonest politics and corrupt religious leaders, much of society grows-up with a contempt for talk of "honesty." The same politicians, who promote a return to traditional values, like honesty indicated for lying on their tax returns ... called campaigns. This type of rationalization has resulted in a false justification of human nature. Nicolo Machiavelli argues, "Let a prince win and maintain his state: the means will always be j...

• Word Count: 1269
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School