Censorship, Necessary or NotIn Plato's Republic, he attempts to develop a utopia for humanity. In his book, he uses conversation between people as a way to discuss larger, more serious topics. One of the most important propositions made in these discussions occurs when Socrates and Glaucon deliberate on the question of censorship and its necessity at the beginning of “Book III.” Plato leads me to believe that censorship is a necessary evil that must exist to protect the city as a whole. The question arises when we approach this subject; does society need censorship to reach its full potential? Plato seems to think so, but for me the jury is still out. “Book III” of the Republic begins by explaining how to create warriors and what precautions are necessary to convince people that death is not a bad thing. Plato wants to invent citizens who “are not afraid of death, preferring it to defeat in battle or slavery (386b4)”. Plato believes that the only way to achieve this is to censor the materials people are exposed to. Plato wants to create a society where all those deserving enough desire to become warriors and where citizens volunteer to fight for their city-state. The only way to eliminate people's fear of death, he says, is to eliminate the stories they were raised on. Plato further reflects on this idea of ​​censorship, saying: We must then watch over such stories and those who tell them, and ask them not to denigrate life in Hades in this unconditional way, but rather to praise it, since what they say now is neither true nor beneficial warriors (386b7-386c1). Many people in modern times have taken what Plato said...... middle of paper......ind for centuries. The real question though should be if censorship is used, what kind of effect it has on the people who are subject to it. Part of ancient Greek culture is the stories told about the underworld and their theatrical depictions of death. I'm not saying more stories can't be told to glorify the life and death of a warrior, but the elimination of everyone who doesn't praise it is ridiculous. Citizens deserve the opportunity to draw their own conclusions about whether or not they want to join the military. Another consideration is that even if Plato believes that people are self-interested, which most are, that doesn't mean that when push comes to shove and their civilization is attacked, they won't stand and defend it not. Plato was wrong in my opinion on the subject of censorship. Sounds more like brainwashing to me.