Abstract

Plato's political thought gave rise to a number of concepts and issues - such as the idea of a normative theory, the philosophical foundation of politics, the philosopher-kings, the standard of utopian theory - which have played a significant role on Western political and philosophical thought. This volume aspires to bring out Plato's concept of efficacy in a normative theory. By efficacy, the author means the way in which the theory conceives of its practical realization. If in the Republic this issue is particularly problematic, in the Laws, instead, the claim of realizability becomes the main concern. By defining the concept of efficacy and going through the main works of Plato, this conceptual and textual analysis aims to shed a new light on Plato's political thought, which is neither a utopia, nor a short term political program, but the first normative theory encompassing a theory of efficacy.