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Why Plato believed that philosopher kings – not democracy – should run the state
Think modern democracy is stagnant, stifled by bureaucracy and undone by a fickle populace? Plato saw it coming from some two-and-a-half millennia away. This short animation from BBC Radio 4 explains why Plato had little love for democracy, and believed that it was the true elite – trained philosophers, of course – who should steer the ship of state.
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video
Work
Emergency first responders meet chaos with dissonant calm in this gripping short
9 minutes
video
The ancient world
Not a lost kingdom but a parable – how to read Athens in Plato’s story of Atlantis
24 minutes
video
Meaning and the good life
Albert Camus built a philosophy of humanity on a foundation of absurdity
6 minutes
video
Public health
When two punk bands came to a psychiatric hospital, beautiful chaos ensued
27 minutes
video
Design and fashion
Gear up for a stylish celebration of vintage motorcycle design
6 minutes
video
The ancient world
A balanced account of Nero’s life reveals the ‘editing and destruction’ of history-making
27 minutes
video
Film and visual culture
Shoddy filmmaking meets the miracle of life in a police training film turned cult classic
11 minutes
video
Mathematics
Check in to the Hilbert Hotel, and learn why some infinities are bigger than others
6 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
The buzzes, clanks and whirrs of prison life form a meditation on freedom
17 minutes