Building the City – The Birth of the Guardians

In Episode 3 of The Republic, Socrates continues the search for justice by building a city from the ground up. After Glaucon rejects the simple “city of pigs” and demands the comforts and luxuries of ordinary life, the city begins to expand. More wealth creates the desire for more land, and eventually the need for war. Socrates then introduces the Guardians, a professional class whose responsibility is to defend the city. But a serious problem emerges: how can a society create protectors who are fierce enough to confront its enemies while remaining gentle toward the people they serve? Through Plato’s famous comparison of the Guardian to a well-bred dog, this episode explores specialization, war, leadership, courage, character, and the difficult relationship between power and education.