SOURCE: Calvert, Brian. “Slavery in Plato's Republic.” Classical Quarterly ns. 37, no. 2 (1987): 367-72.

In the following essay, Calvert summarizes the critical debate over whether Plato's ideal republic would include slaves or not, concluding that although the standard critical view supports the existence of slavery in the republic, there is an equally balanced argument opposing the existence of the practice.

I.

For a number of years, in the not too distant past, there was a lively debate between Plato's defenders and critics over the question of whether his Republic contained slaves. However, since the appearance of an article by Gregory Vlastos¹ some twenty years ago, it seems to have been generally felt that the issue has been resolved, and the controversy has died down. Vlastos argued that the evidence admits of no doubt—Plato included slaves in his ideal state. In this paper, I wish to have the case reopened...