In his classic work "The Republic," Plato uses many examples to help his readers visualize the concepts he relates. One such example is the famous "Allegory of the Cave." Basically, the allegory illustrates the most sheltered environment possible, in which a certain number of captives are restrained against a cave wall since before they can remember. While their bodies are bound to the side of the cave, images projected off of a fire dance back and forth on the wall in front of them. To these people, the dancing images are reality. For example, a shadow of a puppet is a man, a paper triangle is a tree, and the captive who can most accurately predict what shadows will appear next is the group scholar. Therefore, their experience in the cave is the only experience they know of life. Of course, Plato did not come up with this example merely as an entertaining story, as the allegory of the shows many of Plato's beliefs regarding democracy. Many different interpretations can be derived from this example, such as different possibilities for reforming democratic government. Two lessons taught in the allegory of the cave are the importance of both education and the media in representative forms of government.

First of all, the allegory teaches that an educated population is essential to a successful democracy. Before the cave dwellers know anything of the outside world, they will remain convinced that the shadows they see dancing on the wall, and the sound of the men behind the wall carrying around the puppets, are reality. Anything other than that will remain a fairy tale for the gullible to fall for. However, once the cave dwellers are brought outside the cave and educated on the reality known on the surface, then they will become a much more productive member of society. The same can be said about uneducated members of a democratic society. For example, people who lack a quality education are very similar to the people stuck in a cave. While they think that they know the truth, they only know the images on the wall and the sounds of their captors. Also, the people stuck in the cave can be compared to the third level in Plato's perfect republic, for they only know their own appetites. Once they begin their education, in this case breaking free of the bonds and traveling up the cave to the light, they move up to the next level, the auxiliaries. Of these, only a select few move completely out to the next level , which is to see the outside world and comprehend it all. These people are Plato's guardians. When the three classes are all put together, they make up the three social classes of Plato's ideal city. In addition, the three distinct phases also represent parts of Plato's perfectly just man. The fact that the guardians once were completely blind to reality in the cave shows that they possess all three elements, which ties in with the rest of Plato's philosophy in the work. In conclusion, education is a vitally important aspect of a democracy as it makes self government itself possible, as well as making many other aspects of life more enjoyable.

Next, the allegory of the cave has another modern implication: as an example of the media's effect on the voting population. In the cave example, people strapped to the side of the cave only saw what the people behind them wanted them to see, and the captives only heard what the projectors wanted them to hear. Furthermore, in the cave example the people projecting images for the benefit of the captives first observed these images outside, then gave their impression of it to the captives. Likewise, the modern media come in between the source of political news, the law-makers themselves, and the general population. The only way to avoid relying on the dancing shadows for important political information is to watch the growing number of unfiltered cable stations that feature constant live broadcasts of law-makers in action. Of course, virtually no one actually tries to keep up in that fashion. Therefore, the next best way to obtain information is to read periodicals such as daily newspapers or magazines, or even read information off of the internet. Of course, not as many people read consistently anymore, and the internet still is not the vital information-spreading device many play it up to be. Therefore, the majority of the population watches television for its news. Of these people who watch television for news, the vast majority watch low quality news programming more geared to earning money for the station then delivering news. In fact, most studies show that people who watch network news as their primary source of information are as well informed as people who do not actively follow the news at all. So where does that leave the majority of the voting population of this country? In the cave with the people who have been strapped there for their entire lives. If the population is not careful about their consumption of the news, then they can easily be duped into having their opinion controlled by a biased media. Therefore, a quality free press is essential to a democracy as it will inform the population about current events well and keep the country running smoothly.

Even today in our modern world, there are still numerous examples of how the allegory of the cave applies in the world of politics. Two particular examples of how it remains true are in the realms of education and the media, as well as provide the most effective way to reform democracy as we know it: by educating the masses about not just politics but all other areas of knowledge as well. To this day, Plato remains a key figure in the development of political thought, and the allegory of the cave is just one example of how his influences remain felt.