In this book, Sara Munoson challenges the old and widely held view that Plato is a fierce opposition to all democratic things. However, it does not put in place the equally wrong notion of being biased towards democracy.

Instead, you argue that we should come closer to Plato's suggestion that democracy is terrifying and exciting, and seeks to explain why it is ethically and politically interesting. Monoson focuses on Plato's participation with democracy as he has known: a set of cultural practices that reach private and public life, as well as a range of governing institutions.

She suggests that while Plato's schemes show a discrepancy between the claims of democratic legitimacy and philosophical truth, it also shows a remarkable attraction to four basic practices of Athenian democracy: intense violent rhetoric, open speech, public funeral sermon, and continuous theater. By combining the detailed examination of these aspects of Athenian democracy with the analysis of pictorial language, the dramatic structure, arguments and dialogues, they show that Plato regularly links the ideals and democratic activities of philosophical work.

Monson finds that Plato's political thought exposes the intimate ties between Athenian democracy policies and the practice of philosophy. In developing Plato's political thought in the context of the Athenian democratic imagination, Monoson develops a new way of thinking about the relationship between Plato's thought and the policies of his city.

I want that book.