Pangle, Thomas L., "The Political Psychology of Religion in Plato’s Laws," The American Political Science Review 70, no. 4 (December 1976), 1059-77.

Excerpt:

Why is it important that we turn our serious attention to Plato’s Laws? How will the study of this antique work help us to come to grips with the dilemma of modern democracy? We find ourselves citizens of rich and powerful regimes which administer enormously dynamic societies; yet the accelerating pace of change, the increasing sense of motion, go together with a dramatically decreasing sense of purpose and direction. We can openly wonder what our prosperity and freedom are for. What kinds of men and women, what ways of life, are intended to be the “users” of this liberty and wealth?

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