A System of Government Based on Plato’s Head, Chest, and Abdomen Theory

Could a better world look like this?

Plato theorized that both the human body and the state are comprised of the same three central parts: an Abdomen which represents appetite and aspires to temperance, a Chest which represents will and aspires to courage, and a Head which represents reason and aspires to wisdom. When a person is successfully striving toward each of these aspirations through each of these parts, that person will live a balanced and harmonious life. Same, he says, for the state; although, as he expounds he suggests that the answer to this lies in everyone in society being aware of their place in the system (the general populace being the Abdomen which need to temper themselves under the guidance of a ruling Head class) and not attempting to move from one part to the other. I appreciate his deduction that rulers should be guided by reason and wisdom, but otherwise I find his solution to the state rather archaic and uninspired.  

Still, his initial Head/Chest/Abdomen theory intrigued me, and I wondered if I could come up with a governing system that utilized it while taking into consideration the progress the world has already made. Also, for many years, I have stood by the belief that the world would be better suited to a larger united governing system than our current national separatist society, so this concept serves as a possibility for what that connected world government could look like.  

“The Head” is a council of seven expert philosophers with backgrounds in law and sociology, one representing each continent. These are appointed by “The Hands,” must be approved by a majority of members in a joint session of “The Chest” and “The Abdomen,” and serve for a maximum of 20 years. “The Head” is responsible for, every two years, reviewing and analyzing every current law and either reapproving it until the next session or suggesting removal or revision. Approvals of current laws and approvals of suggested revisions or removals must be unanimous. “The Head” is also responsible for defining the minimum and maximum consequences individuals can face if they prevent another from exercising their rights or fail in one of their responsibilities, as defined by “The Chest” and “The Abdomen.” Again, a unanimous decision is required to approve a proposal. 

“The Chest” is a congressional delegation with one representative from every nation-state. “The Chest” is responsible for defining and writing into law the various rights and liberties the populace ought to have. Per the constitution, the ‘populace’ encompasses every person born or residing on the Earth or under the Earth’s domain and protection (assuming we someday expand beyond). A majority vote suffices to approve a proposal. Each member of “The Chest” must have resided in their chosen nation-state for a minimum of 10 years and is elected by a majority vote of the populace in their nation-state. The vote occurs every 5 years, by a rank-choice voting system, and members may serve for a maximum of 3 terms.

“The Abdomen” is a second delegation with similarly one representative from each nation-state, but these are chosen by sortition. Any member of the represented populace between the ages of 23 and 55 who is not currently serving in a different governmental role might be called to serve for a two-year term to represent the nation-state of their current residence, chosen every two years by a random drawing of lots.  Individuals chosen to serve as a representative in “The Abdomen” are bound to serve, with exceptions made in reasonable circumstances, but may be asked to serve no more than one term in a lifetime. “The Abdomen” is responsible for defining and writing into law the responsibilities – to the whole or to specific others – that each individual in the populace ought to be held to, and any limits to complete freedom that ought to be enforced. A majority suffices to approve a proposal. Each two-year session of “The Abdomen” votes among themselves to appoint a facilitator who will organize each meeting and hire outside legal experts to write the language of each proposal. 

Every proposal approved by either “The Chest” or “The Abdomen,” or a revision or consequence approved by “The Head,” is only ratified into law by an approving vote of two-thirds of all congressional members in a joint session of all three parts. Joint sessions are convened on a regular schedule to discuss and vote on any approved proposals. If there are no approved proposals to vote on at the time of a regularly scheduled joint session, the joint session must still be held, and members will spend the time updating the other parts on their current debates and receiving constructive advisement from the others’ members.  

“The Hands” are a pair of individuals, each chosen separately by a majority rank-choice vote of the world populace, who collaborate to enforce the laws and budget the world’s resources in accordance with the populace’s legal rights and responsibilities. They must act together and unanimously in every governmental duty. If an issue arises between them, they must consult “The Head” and abide by “The Head’s” unanimous decision.  

“The Feet” are two individuals chosen by sortition, with all members of the world populace between the ages of 23 and 55 who are not currently serving in another governmental capacity being eligible, who apprentice “The Hands.” By random, each foot is assigned to one hand and will take that hand’s role if for any reason that hand can no longer serve. 

Election of “The Hands” and choosing of “The Feet” occur simultaneously every five years. An individual may serve for a maximum of two terms as one of “The Hands.” Individuals chosen to serve as “The Feet” are bound to serve, with exceptions made in reasonable circumstances, but may be asked to serve no more than one term in a lifetime.  

One right written into the original constitution is each individual’s right to a basic income to ensure the interruption of a required governmental term does not severely disrupt a person’s livelihood. 

Perhaps by modeling our society off Plato’s theory, the world could finally achieve balance. 

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I’ve called this Substack “On Storytelling” and I’d like to clarify my meaning. Writing drama and fiction is a passionate love of mine, but trying write out the story of a better world into true existence is a fiery passion. History is made up of stories. By working to alter the course of it, we are simply improvising the tale that – hopefully – later generations will write down. It’s all storytelling. 

Thank you to Elle Griffen for inspiring me to type this up from an old notebook entry! Here’s the original prompt:

Writing Prompt: Come up with an alternative to democracy