The Power of the Polis. Remarks on Arendt’s Critique of Plato’s Political Philosophy

Abstract

One of the most innovative traits of Hannah Arendt’s thought is her original conception of political power. In opposition to the Western philosophical-political tradition, the author develops a positive notion of power, as the result of collective action, while she dissociates power from violence. This article aims to present an analysis of the Arendtian concept of power and a detailed reconstruction of its genesis. In particular, I will examine the link between the elaboration of the concept of power, the critique of Plato’s Political Philosophy and the interpretation of the classical Greek world. In this way, I will demonstrate how the polis works in her thought as a conceptual laboratory for the renewal of the modern political categories.