Restructured Legacies: Rebuking Popper's Autarkic Tradition by Unearthing Plato's Cosmopolitan Preferences

In 2019, Victor Davis Hason revived Popper's autarkic reading of Plato to justify the foreign policy of President Donald Trump, suggesting Trumpism aligns with Plato's project. This modern application compelled our re-examination of the autarkic tradition. Yet, the issues surrounding this false tradition did not end with Trump's 2021 unseating; this use of Plato reveals broader, perennial questions around abusing philosophy for electoral ends. Building on the work of Carol Atack and Allan Bloom, we unearth a tradition of moderate cosmopolitanism and suggest this cosmopolitan trend is the more accurate tradition of Plato and thus should be his enduring legacy.