Comparison of Republican Institutes to The Republic
by Susanna

Throughout history, man has always strived to create utopias, perfect societies where life is easier, people are happier, and the things are generally better than they are in the real world. No matter how carefully these utopias are planned, however, they are rarely ever brought to life and successfully implemented in society, for there is always someone who is unhappy with the situation. One of the earliest utopias ever conceived is that of Plato in his work The Republic. Because he is unhappy with the Athens of his time, he creates a society that is the complete opposite of the one in which he lives. Many years later, the Frenchman Louis Saint-Just wrote Republican Institutes, in which he presented his own view of a utopia, again one that contrasts greatly with the society of his time. These two works differ greatly, particularly in the forms of government, society, and religion used in each utopia presented. Ironically, Plato's utopia is similar to the real France of Saint-Just's time, just as Saint-Just's ideal society is like Athens of Plato's time.

To understand the basis for the utopias presented in The Republic and Republican Institutes, one must be aware of the societies in which the authors lived. Louis Saint-Just lived during the time of the French Revolution, and he was one of the most ardent speakers against the oppression of the common people. At that time, France was essentially a monarchy; although there was a parliament of sorts, the king held most of the power. However, the monarchy was far removed from the ordinary citizens of France, and the king often had little idea of what the country's situation really was. In an attempt to settle the problems of the nation, the king called the Estates General, an assembly of representatives of France's three social classes or estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the common people. Although the Third Estate, that of the commoners, comprised the majority of the population, they held the least power and were oppressed by the other classes. Even in the Estates General, the Third Estate had less power than the other estates; therefore, the assembly was not effective (Spielvogel 679). The situation was further aggravated because wealth was not evenly distributed among France's citizens, and the country's society was based on privilege. This inequality, along with the monarchy's incompetence, caused Saint-Just to invent his own ideal France, one in which the people held the power and all were equal.

In contrast, the Athens in which Plato lived was a democracy. All citizens had equal status; while there were social classes, all were considered equal by the law. The state was directly controlled by the people, who were chosen randomly from year to year to perform the duties of the government. In fact, they pitied societies such as that of the Egyptians, where the people were ruled by a monarch (Howland 6). Like Saint-Just, Plato found fault with the society in which he lived, and he too created his own utopia. However, just as Plato's real world was the opposite of Saint-Just's, his utopia was the opposite of Saint-Just's ideal society. Because Plato believed that the average person lacked the intelligence to govern a state, in his society only a select few controlled the government, while the masses had little or no power.

The major difference in Republican Institutes and The Republic lies in the form of government for each society. Saint-Just believed in the power of the individual, saying, "The poor man is superior to government and the powers of the world; he should address them as a master" (Saint-Just 452). This strong belief in the common person led him to create a government in which the country was controlled by the people and not a monarch.

Plato, however, distrusted democracy after seeing how the government was run in Athens. He believed that people could not be ethical unless they lived in a "just and rational state" (Spielvogel 95). This ideal led him to create his own concept of such a state. In this utopia, the citizens were divided into three groups, and the most elite of these groups governed the state. The members of the ruling class were called the guardians or philosopher-kings, so chosen because of Plato's opinion that only a select few possessed the ability to rule. "[U]nless… political power and philosophy meet together… there can be no rest from troubles…" (Spielvogel 96). The government of the state could take one of two forms. Either it was a monarchy ruled by a single guardian, or it consisted of an aristocracy of a small number of guardians. The task of the rest of the guardians was to carry out the will of the ruler or rulers (Sahakian 60-61). The selection of rulers began during the guardians' education. "Let us note among the guardians those who in their whole life show the greatest eagerness to do what is for the good of their country, and the greatest repugnance to do what is against her interests" (Plato 116). Of those who exhibited the qualities deemed worthy of a ruler, one or several were selected by a committee to control the state. The government's control over the people was absolute; the rulers could even mislead the general populace if they so wished. "The government has the right to lie if the public interest demands it" (Russell 65).

Another difference in the two works is the society that exists in each utopia. Saint-Just believed that all people were equal and that there was no need for separate social classes. "We must have a system which… assures comfort to the entire people" (Saint-Just 452). He also said that there must be no difference in wealth between people, stating, "We must have neither rich nor poor" (Saint-Just 452). However, he was not so naïve as to assume that the transition to perfect equality would occur immediately; instead, he made provisions for France's transition to this ideal condition. For instance, Saint-Just decreed that every year, each community would select one young man "rich and virtuous and without deformity." This man in turn would select one poor maiden and marry her "in everlasting memory of human equality" (Saint-Just 454). In Saint-Just's ideal state, children belonged to their mother until the age of five, provided she took proper care of them. After this, they became citizens and so belonged to France until death. Therefore, it was the country's duty to educate them from the ages of five to sixteen. From the ages of five to ten, boys were taught basic skills such as reading, writing, and swimming; from ten to sixteen, they learned a more specific trade, such agriculture, or they received military training. He claimed that children should be neither struck nor caressed, that they should "be trained in laconic speech," and that they should be taught to always speak the truth (Saint-Just 452-453).

In Plato's ideal state, citizens were divided into three distinct, unequal social classes. The guardians or philosopher-kings were the most elite and intelligent and held all political power; the warriors were courageous and swore to defend the state from both external and internal enemies; and the artisans were the common people, whose duty was to produce for all citizens (Sahakian 59). "…[E]ach group fulfilled its assigned role, creating a society that functioned harmoniously" (Spielvogel 96). Plato was concerned with the needs of the community rather than the needs of the individual. Therefore, the guardians were trained to transcend material wants and values in order to concentrate on the needs of the state. Because of this emphasis on the suppression of individuality, there were no marriages or family structure. Instead, in an early form of genetic engineering, couples were temporarily paired in order to produce the fittest offspring possible. The children were taken away from their mothers at birth and were raised together; therefore, no child knew who his or her parents were (Russell 64). Much emphasis was placed on education. During a child's first years, he or she was taught basic sanitary skills; from the ages of three to eighteen, the children were taught a wide variety of academic subjects, including mythology, gymnastics, reading, writing, poetry, music, and mathematics. Between the ages of eighteen and twenty, they received military training. At this point, each person's social class was determined. For instance, those who were especially courageous or strong became members of the warrior class, and the especially intelligent or philosophically-minded joined the guardians. The education of the most intelligent of the guardians could sometimes continue until the age of fifty (Sahakian 60).

The final comparison between Saint-Just's and Plato's works is that of the religion of each society. Saint-Just had a strong faith in God, calling Him "the only hope of man in his loneliness of spirit" (Morton 316). He also believed in life after death, as shown by some of his writings. "I contemn the dust of which I am made, this dust that speaks to you now. It can be persecuted, it can be brought to death. But I challenge the world to take from me that part of me which will live through the centuries and survive in the skies" (Morton 202). This solid belief in the Supreme Being, as Saint-Just called Him, was evident in the utopian society he created. Somewhat idealistically, Saint-Just assumed that all the citizens would share his faith. "The French people recognize the existence of the Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul" (Saint-Just 453). God and religion made up an important part of day-to-day life in Saint-Just's ideal France. The first day of every month was spent in worship of God, and temples were open year-round and tended twenty-four hours a day. The fortunes and children of all citizens were dedicated to God. Saint-Just also associated loyalty to France with morality and religion. "The immortal souls of all those who have died for the fatherland, who have been good citizens, who have cherished their father and mother and never abandoned them, are in the bosom of the Eternal" (Saint-Just 453). Saint-Just, who died trying to bring about the France of his dreams, seemed assured of his own salvation.

Plato's views on religion conflicted one another somewhat. He viewed God as "the highest, perfect reality in the universe" (Sahakian 54). However, his Deity was not perfect in the ordinary sense of divine perfection. Plato claimed that God did not create the universe out of nothing; instead, He shaped it out of a chaotic, basic substance known only as "matter." The creation therefore was not perfect because the material used had been imperfect. "Not even God can make a perfect world out of imperfect materials" (Sahakian 55). Also, according to Plato, God did not create everything in the universe. "God should be shown as the creator not of the whole world, but only of what is not evil in it" (Russell 64). Plato said that man's purpose in life was not to worship God so much as to strive to resemble Him as much as possible. "Resemblance to God, then, is the ethical end of man" (Sahakian 56). Although Plato's ideal society had no priests, the citizens were taught some aspects of religion. The words of poets such as Homer were banned, for they showed the gods "carrying on like quarrelsome intemperate men, which is bad for respect" (Russell 64). While Plato's Deity was a large step away from the immature, all too human gods of Greek mythology, his concept of divinity was a far cry from that of the Christian God Saint-Just worshipped.

Plato and Saint-Just both longed to improve the societies in which they lived. Saint-Just lived in a society where social status was important, people were unequal, and the nation was governed by a few privileged people. His ideal society was the exact opposite of the real France; there were no social classes, wealth did not matter, and the people themselves had the power. Plato, however, was dissatisfied with the democratic society around him, and he created a perfect state in which common people were grouped into one lower class, while the upper class controlled all aspects of the government. Ironically, Plato's utopia became Saint-Just's reality, just as the ideal society of Saint-Just's writing had already existed long ago in Plato's Athens. Both Plato and Saint-Just were highly intelligent men with similar philosophies and values, but each saw his own world as flawed and the other's as ideal. This illustrates that no one society will ever please all of the people, all of the time. Whether the majority of the people are happy as in Athens or unhappy as in France, there will always be a few who are dissatisfied and who long to create a perfect society. However, because society always depends most upon the people who make it up, this utopia can never be.

Works Cited

Howland, Jacob. The Republic: The Odyssey of Philosophy. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.

Morton, J.B. Saint-Just. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1939.

Plato. The Republic. Classics of Western Thought. Ed. Stebelton H. Nulle. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, Inc., 1964. 115-136.

Russell, Bertrand. Wisdom of the West. London: Rathbone Books Limited, 1959.

Sahakian, William S. Outline-History of Philosophy. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1968.

Saint-Just, Louis. Republican Institutes. Readings in European History. Ed. J.H. Robinson. Volume 2. Boston: Ginn, 1906. 451-454.

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization. Saint Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Company, 1997.