On utopias, animals and the figure of the citizen

My aim is to draw a comparison between classical Greek thought and modern political thought, in relation to Western culture. The idea is that there are parallels between these two processes, and, beyond these connections, there are also continuities. I will examine the following areas in a general way. Firstly, I will address the topic of utopias, and then I will focus on the idea that political thinkers tend to use models from the animal world to consider social life. I will also examine the similes that have persisted throughout the history of thought, which are principally the figures of the sheep and the bees. Finally, I will present Rousseau and citizenship. To conclude, I will discuss the “validity” of these representations. One final clarification: the paper covers a long period, from Plato to the French Revolution.