The moral theory of Plato is unique in the sense that he believes the microcosm of the individual is a mirror of the macrocosm of the political/social state. To Plato, morality is an efficiency harmony of the whole achieved through the most effective use of the parts. Evil is nothing more than the parts of man or the parts of the state that are out of balance. Might does not make right to Plato because justice is not just strength and power but it is “harmonious strength-desires and men falling into that order which constitutes intelligence and organization; justice is not the right of the stronger, but the effective harmony of the whole” (Durant 39). Unlike Nietzsche’s flawed view of the Superman as the individual who waxes his own abilities to their highest potential despite the impact on the whole, Plato views all morality as being directly linked to the good of the whole. The communal nature of man mandates the individual resisting the tendency of all humans to go with their more animal instincts for self gain as opposed to their more rational, intellectual ones relating to the good of the whole, “Morality begins with association and interdependence and organization: life in society requires the concession of some part of the individual’s sovereignty to the common order; and ultimately the norm of conduct becomes the welfare of the group. Nature will have it so, and her judgment is always final; a group survives, in competition or conflict with another group, according to its unity and power, according to the ability of its members to cooperate for common ends” (Durant 40).
The common ends to Plato were best achieved when each and every human was doing what he could best do and was most fitted for in society. In an ideal society all men and women would be trained away from their parents so as not to adopt the mistakes of their mothers and fathers. Instead, they would be schooled to achieve a harmonious ba...