Desserts Are The Backbone of Peace

Presently, I am wrapped up in Plato's The Republic, getting a head-start on the next reading for class. I am merely on the third of 40 pages and I am caught up in a fit of laughter at the ideas these philosophers are throwing around about making a city. 

First, they started out with the conclusion that to have a foundation for a city, one only needs four or five men: one a farmer, one a builder, one a weaver, one a cobbler and one a doctor. Hah! What a boring city that would be. 

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Imagine living in a city with only five people. There would be no laws. There would be no entertainment, even! Us Americans just love celebrities, and in this contrived society, there would be....no. Justin. Bieber. Chaos ensues. 

Quickly, though, my laughter returns when the philosophers realize that four or five men is simply not enough for a sufficient city. Of course no one will want to spend all their time making enough of the staples of life for themselves and everyone else. Why should one man have to grow enough wheat for five? It's simply unfair. 

Cue the next realization: there needs to be imports! Imagine if Americans had to be completely self-sufficient without the aid of any foreign countries. When would there be time for an afternoon siesta? There may be some benefits, though. I imagine that obesity would greatly decrease if the majority of the population had to work to sustain the whole country. More and more people would be involved in physical labor, eliminating what I like to call the "desk-job love handles." Also, I imagine that technology would vastly improve. People would naturally get hurt on the job, so why not build a machine that would do it for you? Technology may evolve into something helpful rather than mindless. But, I guess iPads have already done their damage...

And the pièce de resistance: dessert. One of the philosophers somehow forgot the obvious need for food items like salt, olives and cheese. Thinking on this track, he came to the conclusion that they would "give them desserts, too, of course, consisting of figs, chickpeas, and beans, and they'll roast myrtle and acorns before the fire, drinking moderately. And so they'll live in peace and good health" (Plato, 47). 

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What took him so long to realize that the key to an appeased population is desserts and the moderate drink?? If only the problems of modern-day life could be solved with a slice of apple pie and a glass of Chardonnay. 

I have so far found this reading quite entertaining, especially since the city the philosophers have been planning seems to have come to ground in 3 pages. Who knows what treasures lie ahead for me?