Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

Democracy Under Fire: A New Interpretation of Plato's Crito

by Yosef Liebersohn
Save 17% Save 17%
Current price ₹16,336.00
Original price ₹19,604.00
Original price ₹19,604.00
Original price ₹19,604.00
(-17%)
₹16,336.00
Current price ₹16,336.00

Imported Edition - Ships in 18-21 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9789004751309
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: Brill
  • Publisher Imprint: Brill
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 236
  • Original Price: USD 151.0
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 522 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical

This book argues that Plato's Crito is a fundamental critique of democracy, presenting Crito as the representative democratic citizen. Initially appearing good, decent and law-abiding, but ultimately revealed as bad, indecent and a lawbreaker, harmful to the polis. Through the dialogue's three-stage structure--revelation, rectification, and refutation--Socrates exposes in Crito a fatal democratic flaw. This the author calls the "Measure for Measure argument" the social legitimation of lawbreaking in pursuit of private interest, conceived as unconsciously repaying injustice with injustice. Democratic citizens are generally law-abiding, yet violate the law whenever private interests are at stake, justifying this by subconsciously claiming "the State did me an injustice". Plato's solution to securing obedience lies not in the Laws' speech, but in internalizing that breaking the law harms one's own soul.

Yosef Z. Liebersohn, Ph.D. (2002), is Professor of History and Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University. He has published monographs and articles on Plato, rhetoric, Seneca and Epicurus, including The Dispute Concerning Rhetoric in Hellenistic Thought (2010) and Who is afraid of the Rhetor; An Analysis and Exegesis of Socrates-Gorgias' Conversation in Plato's Gorgias (2014).

Trusted for over 49 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us