Is Plato's Republic really an early Western example of what Sargent calls a utopia?

Plato's Republic works on multiple levels and may be considered as a set of ideas for living a moderate life, as well as a metaphor for the soul and the role of justice within it. However, I had my doubts as to whether or not Plato's Republic fit the bill of a utopia. As I read the required sections, it seemed too different from my preconceived ideas of what I thought a work about a utopia should be like and at first glance, seems too distant from Sargent's definitions of what makes a work utopian. In my mind, a work about a utopia should already exist in time and space and be described by the narrator, rather than be constructed and tweaked by philosophers on the fly. Furthermore, The Republic seem to be more about the nature of justice rather than a better society, as Sargent partially defines utopia. Some more thinking about this, in the context of Plato being held up as an example of a classical effort in the direction of a utopia, is clearly in order.

I begin with Sargent's (9) definition of a utopia:

• social dreaming

• a non-existent society; 

• described in considerable detail;

• normally located in time and space; and

• something that the author intended a contemporaneous reader to view as considerably better than the society in which that reader lived. 

With this definition in mind, I drew up this T-chart to try and decide whether or not Plato's Republic was an example of a utopia:

My final thought is that The Republic is an example of writing about utopia. The T-chart demonstrates that it meets several of Sargent's requirements of a utopia, such as the city's location in time and space, it being a better society than the on Plato lived in, and its history is described as it forms before the reader's eyes. I remain convinced that Plato's Republic is primarily about the role of justice in the soul and ideals for moderate living - but that does not mean it is not large and complex enough to also be an example of utopian writing.


Works cited:

Plato's The Republic

Sargent, Lyman Tower. "The Three Faces of Utopianism Revisited." Utopian Studies 5.1 (1994): 1-37. Web.

Thank you to Sarah and Scott for their comments in class as acknowledged on the T-chart.