Plato's political philosophy

In Plato's Republic, the character of Socrates is highly critical of democracy and instead proposes, as an ideal political state, a hierarchal system of three classes: philosopher-kings or guardians who make the decisions, soldiers or "auxiliaries" who protect the society, and producers who create goods and do other work. Despite the title Republic (in Ancient Greek Politeia—Πολιτεία—and then translated through Latin into English), Plato's characters do not propose a republic in the modern English sense of the word.