The Importance of Writing in a Free Society

Plato’s Republic, written in the 4^th century BC, inaugurated political philosophy and paved the way for the creation of both the American government and Western democracy as a whole. However, while the Founding Fathers borrowed many of Plato’s ideas about democracy from the U.S. Constitution, American society stands at odds with the society depicted in the Republic because it promotes freedom of expression. In banning poets, Plato believed in restricting freedom of speech. But why did he propose this?