I've been doing a lot of reading recently into Greek political thought, and that pretty much begins and ends with Plato and his student Aristotle. They shared much in their ideas, but Aristotle differed from Plato widely, seeing him as too radical and seeking a conservative middle course.
Plato's grand ideal for society involved what he deemed to be three radical changes, or "waves," which would institute a perfect government in Athens and cure the social ills he had grown up with. These three changes, in increasing levels of difficulty were women's involvement in politics (but only if they're qualified), communal structure of society abandoning the traditional nuclear family, and the philosopher-king, the highest of thinkers ruling society. Aristotle had deep problems with each one, considering them impracticable based on what he saw as "natural" or "observable."
So how does this relate to America? Well, it's no question that a lot has changed since then and America is certainly no Greece. But I think we can see parallels between the thinking of Democrats, representing the ideals of Plato, and Republicans, countering with the supposed "common sense" arguments of Aristotle.
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