Plato's Philosopher and Tyrant: Power and Transgression

According to Plato, only the alliance of political power and philosophy could establish a just city and put an end to the evils of cities and men. However, the exercise of power by the philosophers seems to require them to break the very rules they enact: in the Republic and the Laws, they are allowed to lie to the citizens, who are themselves prohibited to lie; in the Statesman, the true statesman infringes the laws. Though & DLANGBRAC; justified & drangbrac; by the interests of citizens, these transgressions are no less problematic: how does the philosopher who engages in them differ from the tyrant? This contribution focuses on to what extent Plato considers transgression an inner dimension of political power, and to what extent the division between legitimate and illegitimate transgression is helpful to draw the border between philosophical power and tyrannical power.