James Baquet

    In Plato’s work “The Republic,” he imagines the ideal nation, and suggests it should be ruled by a “philosopher king,” saying: “Philosophers must become kings, or those now called kings must genuinely and adequately philosophize.” There have been a few examples in history: Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius comes to mind, and King Ashoka, Buddhist ruler of the ancient Maurya Kingdom in India. Thomas Jefferson would have been a “philosopher president.”

    But none of these had the credentials of Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 28th president of the United States. Not only did Wilson have a Ph.D degree in political science, but for eight years he was president of Princeton University, an Ivy League school. He left there to become governor of New Jersey, and from that seat was elected president of the nation.

    How he was elected is instructive in this American election year: Wilson, a Democrat, benefitted from a division in the Republican Party. Though he received only 40 percent of the vote, the Republicans’ 60 percent was split between two candidates, allowing Wilson to win. The same could happen this year if Bernie Sanders runs for president. He and Hillary Clinton could split the Democratic vote, giving Republican Donald Trump a victory.

    Wilson’s philosophy has been referred to as “Wilsonian Idealism,” echoing the terminology used by and of Plato. His “ideals” were summed up at the end of World War I in “The Fourteen Points,” principles which attempted to establish world peace. Many of the points were specific to the issues of that war, but the 14th led to the establishment of the League of Nations.

    While a good idea in theory, the League of Nations was never very effective. The outbreak of World War II proved this conclusively, and the league was essentially disbanded in 1939, though it existed on paper until the end of the war. Meanwhile, in 1943 the United Nations was formed, a more successful version of Wilson’s idea.

    For his efforts at making peace, Wilson was presented the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919.

    Vocabulary:

    Which word above means:

    1. think deeply about something

    2. beginning of something bad

    3. people running for office

    4. the study of government

    5. perfect concept

    6. providing knowledge or information

    7. proof of one’s abilities

    8. group of people, organizations, or nations that have agreed to do something together

    9. stated in a few words

    10. reflecting, imitating