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Reem Kashlan Dr.

Petrakos History 261 March 16, 2012 The Role of a True Statesman The role of a true ruler has been discussed through a multitude of texts through history, however Plato addressed the role of a true leader, or statesman, in his dialogue, The Statesman, edited by Julia Annas and Robin Waterfield. The Statesman is one of the many platonic dialogues that exhibit Platos views on method and metaphysics in the political system. The main theme of the dialogue is a definition of the art of politics and the degree to which political experience is subject either to the rule of sound judgment or to technical construction. The conversation features a Visitor that tries to refute Socrates. Much of his conversation is dedicated to a minute analysis of the art of weaving which according to the Visitor acts as a template of the art of politics, and for that he perceives the city as a piece of fabric. Through the metaphoric weaving of fabric, Socrates and the Visitor establish an appropriate definition of what a statesman should be. In this paper it will be argued that through expertise a Statesman is able to weave together a functional society through human connections and kingship. The Visitor discussed his distaste for laws and democracy and created his own method for establishing a functioning society through the expertise of the statesman. He did not see a need for laws, and said that for true statesmanship, which alone makes the true constitution, is the practice of the art of ruling (293a). The Visitor then compares the Statesman to a doctor saying that people do not generally question the professional status

or authority of a doctor even if the remedies seem preposterous as long as the instructions he issues are guided by expertise (293b). The statesman has to possess the same qualities as a doctor, the primary criterion of wise kingship is whether the ruler possesses the scientific expertise benefitting the ruler or not (293b). His people must have no doubts about his leadership and assume all decisions made by the statesman are beneficial because his expertise acts as the law. The Visitor also goes on to explain the flaws within the legal system and critique laws in general. The Visitor believes that the ideal for authority to be invested not in a legal code but in an individual who combines kingship with wisdom (294a). The laws, according to the visitor, always strive to force unthinking conformity--like an obstinate and ignorant tyrant who will not allow anything to be done contrary to his command, or any question to be asked--not even in sudden changes of circumstances, when something happens to be better than what he commanded earlier, which brings in the job of the statesman. The Visitor uses the analogy of a ship and starts to explain that the captain contains all the expertise in regards to the functioning of the ship, and the ships captain is constantly trying to ensure the best interests of his ship and crew. The way he keeps everyone safe is not through written law, but by his expertise, meaning his expertise is their law (296e-297a). Because of the nature of his expertise, the statesman is personally connected with everyone, which is proclaimed by the visitor to be the truest characteristic of the statesman. The wise and good statesman manages the affairs of the ruled for the benefit of the ruled (296e). Overall Expertise is more effective than a legal code, which illustrates the importance of expertise in regards to the ruling of the statesman. Expertise plays a big role concerning the credibility of the statesman, and also in the weaving together of the fabric of society.

A major role of the statesman is to weave together the people of society into an operative community. The Visitor discerns that the art of weaving woolen clothes will serve us as an example of statesmanship, and so he refers to a series of divisions in order to properly define this art. The arts of manufacture of kindred fabrics, such as providing the tools or preparing the materials, must be distinguished from the separating arts such as the art of carding and from merely subordinate arts whose products are nevertheless necessary to the weaver (279c-280d). Now that the Visitor defined what the art of weaving is, he explains how a statesman is to incorporate weaving into his kingship. He starts by explaining the two main humanistic characteristics, courage and moderation, which are set in opposition for the men in whom they predominate (306a-b). In this society, the vigorous and aggressive are the warp, the quiet and moderate are the weft, and the spinners and carders are the educators of society (309b). By testing the children in games and then in formal instruction they must provide the statesman with thread strong enough to stand up to the strains of the weaving process but not disobedient to the discipline which shapes all who enter into the fabric of society (308d). Those who cannot pass the test are generally degraded into slavery. All the people who pass will be used to weave the web of state. The ultimate art is intertwining both the warp and the weft (309b). This is achieved by linking all the citizens and causing them to share the same ideals and to cherish the same ultimate values. The links also require human ties, which is what the statesman must seek to forge. Waft like strength must be mated with weft like moderation. The work of a weaver statesman is complete when he has woven these two types of human character into a tight fabric (311b). It is complete when a king with his knowledge makes sure that consensus and loyalty are the materials out of which he

constructs their communal life, and so creates the most magnificent fabric there can be- a seamless cloth in which he enfolds all his subjects whether slave or free-and when his rule, his government is such that it maximizes to the fullest degree the potential a state has for attaining happiness (311b-c). Therefore, harmonious fellowship will be established out of this supreme work of the royal weaver who is the true statesman. Overall, the role of the statesman is to govern his people in a fashion that would benefit the citizens and the state through the use of his expertise. A requirement of the statesman is to have to expertise in order to create a perfectly woven fabric of society. The statesman's actions whether using persuasion or violent force are to be judged only by whether he uses his expertise to benefit the citizens or not. The weaving is a method of interaction between the statesman and his people, which is essentially incorporated into the role of the statesman. As mentioned before, the statesman needs to govern his people in a fashion that would serve as an advantage for the statesman and the people around him, and weaving plays a role in that. Weaving is essentially eliminating the people the statesman find unfit to be part of society because they could serve as a threat to the harmony of the people. This method of elimination is not only beneficial to his people, it is also beneficial to the statesman because his rule depends on the cooperation of the people. Too much waft in an individual would create an unruly and undisciplined individual, and too much weft would create an individual who has no voice in the community, which is why it is the job of the statesman to remove the extremes of both and intertwine the two personalities. Only after completing his roles through expertise and taking his place as royal weaver will one be able to call themselves a true statesman.
Word count: 1285

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