What is the basis of this claim? How (if at all) can it be reconciled with Socrates’ arguments elsewhere concerning the nature of politics and democracy? If this claim is consistent with Socrates’ arguments, what might this show about Plato’s aims in the Republic as a whole? If it is inconsistent, what significance might this have for our understanding of the work? (Note: If you find an inconsistency on this point, you would do well to consider whether this might involve a deliberate irony on Plato’s part.)

In Book VI of Plato’s Republic, Socrates and Glaucon agree that ordinary people would come to accept the rule of philosopher kings, assuming the latter were properly chosen and educated (500a, 502b). What is the basis of this claim? How (if at all) can it be reconciled with Socrates’ arguments elsewhere concerning the nature of politics and democracy? If this claim is consistent with Socrates’ arguments, what might this show about Plato’s aims in the Republic as a whole? If it is inconsistent, what significance might this have for our understanding of the work? (Note: If you find an inconsistency on this point, you would do well to consider whether this might involve a deliberate irony on Plato’s part.)