Republicans Disagree
The Phallic Fallacy
Sophia: Gentlemen, I’ve been pondering what you might call “The Phallic Fallacy” — the idea that power and dominance alone secure respect, when often they merely mask weakness. How do we see this reflected in society?
Plutarch: (leaning forward) Ah, Sophia, it is a sickness as old as republics themselves. An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics. When wealth dictates influence, virtue is abandoned, and the polity decays. Power without justice is a hollow symbol, a false phallus erected in place of moral authority.
Montaigne: (stroking his beard) Indeed, yet the illusion persists because people believe what they know least. Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know. We admire the rich, the powerful, the loud, not for their wisdom or virtue, but because we fail to understand the true measure of greatness.
Sophia: So, Plutarch, the republic falters because virtue is displaced by wealth; and Montaigne, we cling to false reverence because of our ignorance. Is the fallacy, then, both structural and cognitive?
An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.
— Plutarch (46-120 AD)
Plutarch: Precisely. The symbols of power seduce the masses, and the ruling few exploit that seduction. A republic without virtue is like a body without a heart — it may appear alive, but it cannot endure.
Montaigne: And yet, Sophia, consider this: the belief in power’s grandeur persists even among the learned. We quote laws, traditions, and texts, but we rarely question whether they serve justice or merely affirm authority. Our ignorance is self-perpetuating.
Sophia: Then education alone is insufficient. The fallacy is not merely external, but internal — a failure of judgment and reflection.
Plutarch: True. Moral courage must accompany learning. Citizens must recognize the decay that wealth can mask and hold the powerful accountable, lest the republic crumble.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.
— Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
Montaigne: And this is where doubt becomes a tool of freedom. By admitting how little we truly know, we resist the seduction of appearances and uncover the foundation of virtue beneath the noise of wealth and power.
Sophia: So, the remedy is dual: cultivate virtue to balance power, and cultivate awareness to pierce illusion. Only then can the republic and the individual escape the phallic fallacy.
Plutarch: (nodding) Indeed, Sophia. The state, like the soul, must measure what it esteems, or it will topple under the weight of false idols.
Montaigne: (smiling wryly) And perhaps the first step is to question everything we think we know about greatness — before we mistake shadow for substance.
Sophia: Then our work is never done. The fallacy is perpetually at hand, demanding vigilance, reflection, and courage.
The three sit in thoughtful silence, the flicker of candlelight revealing shadows that hint at power, ignorance, and the fragile balance of justice — a reminder that the truest strength lies not in appearance, but in the wisdom to see through it.
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Heraclitus
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