--- product_id: 1705695 title: "The Republic (Penguin Classics)" price: "€ 29.09" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/1705695-the-republic-penguin-classics store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # The Republic (Penguin Classics) **Price:** € 29.09 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Republic (Penguin Classics) - **How much does it cost?** € 29.09 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/1705695-the-republic-penguin-classics) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Plato's The Republic is widely acknowledged as the cornerstone of Western philosophy. Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, it is an inquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. During the conversation other questions are raised: what is goodness; what is reality; what is knowledge? The Republic also addresses the purpose of education and the role of both women and men as "guardians" of the people. With remarkable lucidity and deft use of allegory, Plato arrives at a depiction of a state bound by harmony and ruled by "philosopher kings." For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Review: Great - The Republic is a foundational work of Western philosophy that combines political theory, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology into a sustained dialectical inquiry framed as a dialogue led by Socrates. Its central question—what is justice—expands into an ambitious vision of the just soul and the just city, culminating in the theory of Forms and the famous allegory of the cave, which articulates Plato’s hierarchy of reality and knowledge. The work is intellectually demanding, at times abstract and structurally repetitive, but that repetition serves the argumentative method, forcing the reader to confront assumptions about virtue, power, education, and truth. While some political proposals, such as the communal structure of the guardian class, can appear extreme or impractical, they function philosophically rather than programmatically, illustrating deeper claims about order and moral formation. As a text, it rewards slow, analytical reading and remains indispensable for anyone serious about philosophy, political theory, or the intellectual roots of Western civilization. Review: A classic edition-though an alternative would be welcome - Desmond Lee's translation is no doubt very learned yet easy and convenient to read. His endnotes and annotations are on the whole exceedingly helpful. Still, an alternative edition, of the same quality standard but with a slightly different character, would be welcome, so that it could be read side by side with Lee's edition. Re the translation, one wonders whether Lee, in a bid to accommodate the modern reader, goes too far in rendering Plato's terms in a variety of modern terms. For some of the key concepts, Lee provides the original in endnotes, which is helpful but involves a lot of going back and forth (footnotes might have been preferable). For many concepts, he does not. This is not a call for having the original next to the translation, but for a more literal translation. Re Lee's annotations and appendices, they are helpful analytically but not as much philosophically. I would have loved to have brief philosophical essays on the key similes or concepts in the appendix. The list of secondary readings, which is almost entirely by so-called "analytical" philosophers, hence extremely one-sided and curtailed, gives it away: this edition is produced in an "analytical" tradition. The alternative edition I'd hope for would be furbished by philosophers. One finds them in German or French, of course, but I'd like to see that in English, too. ## Features - Penguin Classics - It ensures you get the best usage for a longer period ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #8,735 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5 in Foreign Language Materials | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,600 Reviews | ## Images ![The Republic (Penguin Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91nYfNvYa7L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great *by A***R on February 27, 2026* The Republic is a foundational work of Western philosophy that combines political theory, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology into a sustained dialectical inquiry framed as a dialogue led by Socrates. Its central question—what is justice—expands into an ambitious vision of the just soul and the just city, culminating in the theory of Forms and the famous allegory of the cave, which articulates Plato’s hierarchy of reality and knowledge. The work is intellectually demanding, at times abstract and structurally repetitive, but that repetition serves the argumentative method, forcing the reader to confront assumptions about virtue, power, education, and truth. While some political proposals, such as the communal structure of the guardian class, can appear extreme or impractical, they function philosophically rather than programmatically, illustrating deeper claims about order and moral formation. As a text, it rewards slow, analytical reading and remains indispensable for anyone serious about philosophy, political theory, or the intellectual roots of Western civilization. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A classic edition-though an alternative would be welcome *by M***Z on November 1, 2024* Desmond Lee's translation is no doubt very learned yet easy and convenient to read. His endnotes and annotations are on the whole exceedingly helpful. Still, an alternative edition, of the same quality standard but with a slightly different character, would be welcome, so that it could be read side by side with Lee's edition. Re the translation, one wonders whether Lee, in a bid to accommodate the modern reader, goes too far in rendering Plato's terms in a variety of modern terms. For some of the key concepts, Lee provides the original in endnotes, which is helpful but involves a lot of going back and forth (footnotes might have been preferable). For many concepts, he does not. This is not a call for having the original next to the translation, but for a more literal translation. Re Lee's annotations and appendices, they are helpful analytically but not as much philosophically. I would have loved to have brief philosophical essays on the key similes or concepts in the appendix. The list of secondary readings, which is almost entirely by so-called "analytical" philosophers, hence extremely one-sided and curtailed, gives it away: this edition is produced in an "analytical" tradition. The alternative edition I'd hope for would be furbished by philosophers. One finds them in German or French, of course, but I'd like to see that in English, too. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very good *by S***I on April 15, 2026* Very good ## Frequently Bought Together - Republic, The - Meditations --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/1705695-the-republic-penguin-classics](https://www.desertcart.at/products/1705695-the-republic-penguin-classics) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-05-08*