Английский язык. Мехеда О.Б. - 9 стр.

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11. Answer the questions:
1. What problems have social philosophers been concerned with since ancient
times?
2. How did Plato see a new society? What society did he dream of?
3. Plato's society is class-structured, isn’t it? What major strata are there in it?
4. Did all the Guardians belong to the ruling class?
5. What functions did each of the three social groups have?
6. Why could each person have an equal chance to manifest his natural
qualities?
7. What could be the justification of giving the Guardians absolute power?
8. Plato proposed the abolition of the family in the Guardian group, didn't
he? Why?
9. What sort of society did Plato propose?
10. What are the distinguishing features of the ruling class according to Plato?
12. Give a summary of the text in about 10 sentences.
UNIT 3
1. Read the text and try to understand it:
Aristotle and Machiavelli
Aristotle's "Politics" is a very significant document in the history of ideas
about social stratification. We read:
Now in all states there are three elements: one class is very rich, another very
poor and a third is mean. It is thought that moderation and the mean are the best,
and therefore it will clearly be best to possess property in moderation; for in that
condition of life men are most ready to follow rational principle. But he who greatly
excels in beauty, strength, birth, or wealth, or on the other hand is very poor, or
very weak, finds it difficult to follow rational principle. Of these two the one sort
grow into great criminals, the other into petty rascals.
Aristotle was clearly concerned with the consequences of inequality in
birth, strength, and wealth for having decent government and the constitution of a
wise and moderate population. Modern studies of the relationship of social
stratification and politics, such as studies of the voting behaviour of different
classes, are concerned with similar problems.
Nearly two thousand years separate Aristotle and Machiavelli but the
concerns expressed by the former are central in the thinking of the Italian
Renaissance genius. Machiavelli asked who is fit to rule and what form of rule
will give order, happiness, prosperity, and strength. He saw tension between the
elite and the masses as a constant feature of organized society. Such tension is
accompanied by fear of the masses among the elite, and envy and fear of tyranny
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