Women, children, and the philosopher-king

Socrates is about to move on when Polemarchus and Adeimantus interrupt. He has said in passing that the guardians' wives and children will be held in common — what does he mean by that? Socrates protests that this is a difficult subject. They press him. He surrenders, and the second half of the dialogue begins to take shape around three "waves" of argument, each more radical than the last.

The first wave: female guardians. If the gift for ruling does not depend on sex — and Socrates argues it does not — then women with the right nature must be trained alongside the men, in gymnastics as well as music, and serve in the same roles. He acknowledges this will look ridiculous to his audience (women exercising naked in the gymnasia was a real scandal). He says the ridicule does not matter if the argument is sound.

The second wave: the abolition of the family for the ruling class. The guardians will not marry; mating will be arranged by the rulers at festivals, the children raised in common, parents not knowing their own offspring. The point is to extend the loyalty of the household to the whole city — every child belongs to every guardian. The third wave, hardest of all: cities will not become just until philosophers rule them, or rulers become philosophers. Socrates says it expecting derision and gets it. Glaucon warns him to brace himself. The rest of the dialogue is, in large part, the defense of this third claim.