Global Journal of Human Social Science Vol.10 Issue 3(Ver1.0)September 2010 Page |31 GJHSS Classification – C (FOR) 160603,160609,160503 Plato‘s feasible city: the rational use of belief and imagination in politics Étienne Helmer Abstract-Plato‟s perfect cities of the Republic and the Laws have often been criticized as utopias; that is, as unachievable cities. It is my argument that such a “utopian reading” is wrong. Plato‟s best cities cannot be understood as utopias neither in the literary meaning of the word nor in the sense of theoretical projects of political recast. They must be seen as paradigms of feasible cities. To a broader extent, the conclusion of my argument is that, according to Plato, imagination and belief are constituent elements of a sound political rationality. Keywords- belief, city, imagination, Laws, paradigm, Plato, politics, Republic, utopia. I. INTRODUCTION n the field of Platonic studies, the word ―utopia‖ is often used to characterize both the literary genre to which the Republic and the Laws belong, and the essence of their political projects (Trousson 1975, Laks 1991, Bobonich 2002 and 2006, Schofield 2006, pp. 194-249). In these dialogues, Plato exposes the fundamental principles of a just society and government that some consider as unwanted, and others as perfect, but in both cases as impossible to achieve: according to them, a utopia, per definition, cannot exist in this world, as shown by the derogatory meaning of the word in expressions like ―utopianism‖ or ―utopian engineering‖ (Popper 1963, pp. 157-168). Even when some try to give it a positive meaning in subtle combinations like ―utopian realism‖ (Schofield 2006, p. 203), it is always irresistibly understood as synonymous with irrelevance or failure to pass the test of reality. This ―utopian reading‖, however, is wrong if we refer to the letter of Plato‘s texts, and it results in a misunderstanding of the spirit of Plato‘s conception of political rationality. In order to prove this, I will deal first with utopia as a literary genre, and show that only the Critias belongs to this genre, but neither the Republic nor the Laws. Secondly, I will deal with utopia as a theoretical project of political recast, and underline that the ―utopian readers‖ are mistaken about the ontological status of Plato‘s cities: they misunderstand the meaning and the function of its paradigmatic nature. At last, I will underline how and in what sense Plato makes his just cities achievable both by a peculiar conception of political rationality, and by a practical continuity between these cities and the empirical and imperfect cities where we are living II. UTOPIA AS A LITERARY GENRE The division between utopia as a literary genre and utopia as a political project is helpful to make my arguments clearer, _______________________________ About- University of Puerto Rico (e-mail- etiennehelmer@hotmail.fr) but these two dimensions can merge in the same one text: literary utopias of course have a political meaning and can have some indirect practical effects, as they stimulate the imagination; theoretical utopias as projects of political recast can also be studied from a literary standpoint. The difference lies in the intention and the priority of the writer: literary utopias do not aim at practical implications first, while utopias as theoretical projects do not deal with formal and stylistic issues first. A. A critical genre The word ‗utopia‘ was coined in the 15th century by Sir Thomas More. But utopia as a literary genre seems older: Plato is ―usually considered as the true creator of the utopian genre, and this is true, but he is quite a special case‖ (Trousson 1975, p. 28). Plato is considered as the father of this genre because of the numerous references to his dialogues appearing in the works of his followers. For instance, Raphael Hythloday, More‘s interlocutor in Utopia, refers to Plato when he describes the Utopian customs; and the Genovese speaker in Tommaso Campanella‘s City of the Sun does the same. However, Plato ―is quite a special case‖ because this so-called and ―after the event‖ fatherhood is based on a misunderstanding. The utopian writers after Plato have found indeed their inspiration in the Republic and the Laws, but the true roots of the genre are to be found in the Critias (Trousson 1975, p. 28), if we are to rely on the definitions of utopia as a literary genre elaborated by various scholars. Let us consider two of them. According to Trousson (1975, p. 24), the word ―utopia‖ can be used ―when a narrative (this excludes political treatises) describes a community (this excludes ―Robinson Crusoe style‖ stories) organized according political, economic and ethical principles corresponding to the complexity of the society (this excludes reversed worlds, Golden Age or Arcadia descriptions); it can be represented either as an ideal to achieve (positive utopia) or as the prediction of hell (anti- utopia); it can be located in a real or an imaginary place, or in time; it can be described as the report of a fictitious likely or unlikely travel.‖ According to other scholars (Negley & Patrick 1968, pp. 108-109), the utopian literary genre contains the three following features: it is fictitious, it describes a given community or State, and it focuses on its social and political structure. In both cases, a literary utopia is a fiction excluding the conceptual approach of a political treatise. It does not expose the abstract reasoning justifying political or ethical principles on which the community rests: it rather I