The United States’ Founding Fathers did not invent the American system from nothing. Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Franklin were all known to be well-educated on the finer points of Western history, which they drew from. In forming the new system, they especially studied the Greeks and Romans. Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero provided indispensable advice on how to form a good Constitution that would protect and uplift the citizens.
Because the Founding Fathers would look back to the ancient thinkers when faced with political problems, we should do the same when looking at political issues in our day. In book 8 of Plato’s Republic, Socrates points out that there is a deep connection between order in the city and order in the soul. If the citizens have disorder in their hearts, there will be disorder in the streets. Socrates says that “beyond simple needs the desire for a whole variety of luxuries is unnecessary.” That is, people must eliminate unnecessary desires through early discipline and education. And by doing this, they gain intelligence and self-control.
If the people do not uphold virtues and deny needless pleasures, the entire nation will begin to falter. Socrates says that when fathers do not take care of their sons, “another brood of desires, akin to those which were banished, are secretly nursed up until they become numerous and strong.” If the family falters in its duty to uphold virtue, the citizens will no longer be virtuous. Without virtuousness in the citizenry, we are led to a government filled with vice-ridden people.
The Founding Fathers understood this too, and they wanted the United States to be a country that promoted virtue. They understood that if there was no virtue and if the soul was not uplifted, the entire country would suffer. This is at the root of America’s current crises. It is a crisis of virtue.
This post originally appeared at https://www.phyllisschlafly.com/constitution/politics-and-the-soul/
