Rhetoric in Plato’s Gorgias and his political theory in the present: postmodernism and populism

Abstract

Following the thesis that Gorgias is about rhetoric, this paper deals with the definition of this topic to establish the differences between the orator and the philosopher. Although rhetoric is defined as an ability and not as a technique, Plato does not deny that the philosopher can use it to achieve the Good of the soul of the polis. But, then, who is this ideal governor who assures the good of the citizens of Athens? We will try to answer this question by analyzing this platonic figure, as represented in Socrates. In this way, when Plato answers the question about who should govern the polis, he is building his political theory. To finish, we will analyze the analogy between this political theory and two of the predominant ideologies of today: postmodernism and populism.