The Republic

Plato's Republic, written around 375 BC, is a Socratic dialogue about justice and whether the just person is happier than the unjust one. Socrates and his companions imagine an ideal city, Kallipolis, ruled by philosopher-kings, and use it to explore the order of the state and the character of the soul. Along the way they discuss education, the theory of forms, the immortality of the soul and the role of poetry. This translation aims to make the dialogues read like real conversations.

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Sam Altman
Ray Dalio: “Plato talked about this cycle... In the Republic. And he talked about the democracy and the problems with the democracy”
Ryan Holiday
Winston Churchill: “From November to May I read for four or five hours every day history and philosophy. Plato's Republic... the Politics of Aristotle, edited by Dr. Welldon himself; Schopenhauer on Pessimism; Malthus on Population; Darwin's Origin of Species: all interspersed with other books of lesser standing.”