Plato employs meritocratic logic in his proposal for gender equality in Book V of The Republic. In his ideal community, the kallipolis, composed of producers, caretakers, and rulers, Plato advocates a specialization of employment and status based on inherent nature, not gender. Allowing for slight modifications resulting from indisputable physical differences between the sexes, Plato's ideas were remarkably enlightened for his time, providing classic support for the feminist movement, although his theories on eugenics anticipated Nazi tactics and were, on one hand, modern point of view, unfair to both. men and women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayPlato recognizes the contradictory qualities of his statement that “one nature must practice one thing and a different nature must practice a different thing, and that women and men are different. But now we affirm that different natures must practice the same things” (453e). After using an analogy that exploits the absurdity of placing bald men and their hairstyled brothers in different jobs, Plato distinguishes a difference of a more real nature, that of a doctor and a carpenter. In its meritocratic society, “if the class of men or that of women demonstrates superiority in an art or other practice, then we will say that this art must be attributed to them” (454c). Plato concedes that, on the whole, “woman is weaker than man,” although Glaucon notes that “many women are better than many men in many things” (455e; 455d). According to the Platonic system, women are allowed, depending on their nature, to develop as musicians, doctors, or warriors, because such specialization is "not only possible but also the best for a city" (457a). In recognition of women's slight physical inferiority, Plato assigns them "lighter parts of these tasks" (457a). The sexes enjoy an equal standard of living, with “no one owning anything privately,” including housing, and sexual interactions will be governed by rulers (458). The best men are made to procreate with the best women, and vice versa. The children of elite citizens are cared for by civil servants rather than their own parents. Parents are not allowed to know the identity of their own children. The reproductive period extends to different ages for men and women (up to 55 and 40 respectively), after which they can copulate as they please, provided that no children are conceived (and there is, it must be taken care of "it being understood that there shall be no education for such a child") (459c). Most of Plato's arguments are difficult to understand in our time and in our democratic society. Few would dispute that the best arbiter of employment is ability. However, the kallipolis only achieves this measure of gender equality through its elitist meritocracy. Government control should only extend to the extent that it ensures a level playing field and must not award positions without the respect and competition of citizens – an unfair policy for both sexes. Furthermore, the eugenics present in the kallipolis is unthinkable in our time, depriving citizens of the fundamental human rights to procreate and care for their own, and reminiscent of Nazi philosophy. Despite these misgivings, I believe that the most questionable passage in Book V from our point of view is the argument that women should see themselves.