Plato wrote that human beings are just like precious metals (gold, silver, and bronze), and come from the earth. That any person can be made of these three different metals and can alchemize into a higher or lower metal throughout their lives.
Gold people are exceptional. They are the kings and leaders in the early world. They have golden souls and are selfless when making decisions on behalf of everyone.
Silver people are guardians. They serve the gold people to enforce how gold is fairly distributed throughout the world.
Bronze people are the working class. They serve the entire world through their specialization. That each bronze person may take on one job rather than be a master of none.
What is interesting about this idea is that Plato believed that the soul was what made someone of a different class. That the gold people have pure souls in which they take on no property or assets themselves and give all of the riches of the world back to the silver and bronze people. That the silver people may become gold people with enough empathy and that any bronze person could work their way to become gold if their soul could one day become pure and ridden of selfishness.
One interesting comparison of this idea and contemporary man is the significant opposites.
Gold people have all the riches and power in the world and typically lack pure souls.
Silver people say yes to gold people without questioning the morality of it all as they are greatly rewarded.
Bronze people continue to produce and allow the world to be full of riches and yet many can hardly make a living without their souls being constantly stressed.
I think Plato’s idea was there in spirit, but is lacking what Socrates truly meant with regards to the immortalization of the soul. That it does not matter what type of person you are born into, but rather what you remember throughout your life and how your soul becomes more full through what it remembers in yours.
Perhaps this is the noble lie that we think that believing in will help us live a virtuous life, but I’d argue that there’s nothing of virtue of lying to your soul. If anything, your soul will become quite disturbed by these lies. These lies are deadly when we remember who we are and find the will to become.
