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# Posted 9:44 AM by Ariel David Adesnik

AN OXFERD EJICATION: In attempt to broaden my mind beyond the headlines, I have started reading Plato's Republic. It is a work of staggering genius. I'm willing to say that after reading only the first thirty pages, because they alone would merit that praise.

To my mind, one of the most fascinating issues raised by the brilliance of the Republic is whether one can say with any conviction that human wisdom is any greater today than it was 2,500 years ago. Has our knowledge of truth and justice advanced beyond that of Plato's time?

On some counts, one can confidently that the modern world has made significant moral progress. We have banished slavery to the edges of modern life. Democracy has taken hold in more nations than ever before.

Yet these are recent accomplishments. As are the horrors of Hitler, Stalin and Mao. (What? Were you expecting me to include Saddam on that list?) We live in an age of extremes.

What if one had been alive 250 years ago, in the days of Washington, Hamilton and Jefferson? Imagine yourself as Hamilton or Jefferson reading the Republic. Would you not have wondered whether it would ever be possible to establish more than a shadow of justice in the modern world? (There actually are answers to such questions. Perhaps EK can enlighten us on this point.)

All these thoughts after only thirty pages...

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