The two oldest traditions that Bellah and the others social scientists identified they chose to name as the Republican and the Biblical traditions. The first of these they apparently named as Republican because it espouses the values found in Plato's classic, "The Republic." ...
The early humanists, such as writer Francesco Petrarch, studied the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans for inspiration and ideology, mixing the philosophies of Plato and other ancient thinkers with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Niccolo Machiavelli-republican idealist, or right wing fascist? ...
To realize how these differences can be resolved, I like to reference Plato who has stated, "Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance." What I believe Plato is saying, and I will agree with him, is that with all matters, excluding matters of aesthetics and taste, there is a right and a wrong, a correct and an incorrect. ... Mind you, the complexities of society deserve more consideration than simply determining that the Democratic Party (more progressive) should overrule the Republican Party. ...
