Republic Book V EP 17 Women, Marriage and Children in the Ruling Class Understanding Plato

Socrates argues in defense of his recommendation that women can and should be rulers in the ideal state. His argument is that there is nothing relevant about women that would prevent them from ruling. Second, he says that male and female rulers should be prevented from marrying or having a permanent sexual relationship with another member of the ruling class because this would make them partial to the need of their spouse, thereby detracting themselves from their main duty to promote the good of the state. Third, any newborn children of a ruler should be removed and taken to an isolated part of the city where professionals will care for, educate and raise them. No child will ever know their biological parents and no biological parents will ever know their children because (again) this would distract the parents from their main task -- to protect promote the good of all citizens.