Comparing Plato and Rousseau

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Comparing Ideas of Plato and Rousseau
Political philosophy is the philosophical reflection that shows how best the human society gets arranged and organized. It is a phenomenon that defines the social practices of the political institutions, economic system and human pattern of life. Political philosophers play a fundamental role in their attempt to propose basic principles that ensure justification form of a given state, individual rights, and equitable sharing of the state resources. They have analyzed and interpreted various ideas such as freedom, democracy, justice and authority (Williams 73). This paper will compare different philosophical ideas of Plato and Jean-Jacques Rousseau based on the political system of the government, nature of the state, sovereignty, property distribution, Freedom, state democracy, and the concept of social contract.
GOVERNMENT
Plato in his work attempts to give strong views about the actions of the government that are in the public interest. According to Plato, public interest relates closely to the universal consensus that is vital for any liberal society. He believes that in matters of governance, public citizens cannot determine the public interest. He adds that only the government officials/rulers or the philosopher king have in depth wisdom to determine the public interest in the government. This concept hinders democratic self-government as the public do not have an opportunity to …