Plato, Philosopher Kings, and Building A New Society

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Plato, Philosopher Kings, and Building A New Society

In reading the philosopher Plato’s works, Plato discusses a new kind of society, and that this new society is ruled by enlightened “Philosopher-Kings”. Have you used such concepts and ideas to design an unusual society in the campaign?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Crothian]

One of the civilizations is ruled by a Philosopher King in my homebrew. But I never came up with a good way to really make it stand apart. We did steal the term from Plato..

 

[Particle_Man]

Haven't tried it. If you do it in d20 fantasy, you have the advantage of using different races for the different roles.

Come to think of it, Exalted does this with Fair Folk (not the crazy dudes on the outside of creation, but the "dwarf" like dudes that live underground and fight demons all the damn time - they got "builders/workers", "soldiers" and "rulers", and that latter are just plain *better* than the other two, and the soldiers are just plain *better* than the workers).

In D&D the NPC classes seem fit for this division of labour, but I guess PCs might break the mold by their very nature. Or you could go with the Generics from UA.

 

[Ace]

Greetings!

Plato, Philosopher Kings, and Building A New Society

In reading the philosopher Plato’s works, Plato discusses a new kind of society, and that this new society is ruled by enlightened “Philosopher-Kings”. Have you used such concepts and ideas to design an unusual society in the campaign?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

I have a kingdom in which only Psions and folks with at least Wild Talent feat are a ruling class. Since the leadership is made up of mostly highly intelligent people it leads to a rather cold and logical civilization.

another Kingdom is ruled only by Charisma based casters -- its a hellish place since its leaders aren't truly hman and are often chaotic in alignment

 

[comrade raoul]

Maybe one of the most fun implementations would be to stick close to Plato's mold.

-- The society is organized in a rigid but efficient and happy caste system governed by a benevolent dictatorship trained from birth to rule.
-- Government is limited to a single (not especially large) city, which exerts influence over the region as a result of its economic or military strength.
-- The whole system is regulated by a mythology whose falsity is a profound secret.

In a fantasy game, maybe everyone in the ruling class is a wizard or psion.

 

[mmadsen]

In reading the philosopher Plato’s works, Plato discusses a new kind of society, and that this new society is ruled by enlightened “Philosopher-Kings”. Have you used such concepts and ideas to design an unusual society in the campaign?

When I think of Plato's philosopher kings, I think of two scenarios: (1) tyranny, as a result of power centralized into the hands of a king, who may or may not be a well-intentioned philosopher, and (2) a utopia only possible in a fantasy setting, e.g. an Atlantis before the Fall.

 

[chobin foot]

Dream Pod 9's Heavy Gear setting has the Humanist Alliance (l'Alliance Humaniste), one of the factions of the Southern hemisphere's Territoires Alliés du Sud (TAS, Allied Southern Territories).
http://www.dp9.com/Worlds/HG_page2b.htm
http://www.dp9.com/Products/DP9-032.htm

The population of the Alliance is divided into three castes: preceptors, protectors, and commoners. Preceptors are the society's leaders and scholars. Protectors are the military and police forces of the Alliance. Commoners are the laborers, businessmen, and craftsmen of their society. Children are assigned to a caste at age 12 after undergoing a complex battery of tests to determine their interests and natural aptitudes.

Many foreigners mistakenly label the people of the Alliance as robots who serve their society. Preceptors plan, protectors fight, and commoners work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Alliance society is designed to allow individuals to achieve their greatest potentials. Hobbies and personal interests are cherished by Humanists as ways of expressing their individuality.

...

Dark shadows lurk within this bright land, however. Social harmony depends on all citizens doing their part, and powerful state institutions maintain unity. Personal freedom is fleeting; seemingly innocent quirks can easily be labeled deviant and result in re-education. Hypnosis, drugs and other mind-control techniques routinely regulate the population. The situation is made far worse by the Alliance's domination by the Southern Republic.

This insular society is ready to crack.