https://vid.freedif.org/videos/watch/9a9ac151-e6fc-4c85-8598-59fea7a99182 Dig into Plato’s infamous Ship of State thought experiment, which explores how democratic societies handle leadership and power. -- Imagine a ship struggling in an endless storm. Its captain, though strong and commanding, is a terrible navigator. Neither he nor his crew have been trained to sail, yet they tirelessly vie for control through bribery, flattery, and mutiny, and ignore those with real navigation knowledge. This dysfunctional vessel is Plato's Ship of State. Michael Vazquez explores the infamous thought experiment. Lesson by Michael Vazquez, directed by Luis Torres, Mr. Flama. This video was produced in collaboration with the Parr Center for Ethics, housed within the renowned Philosophy Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Parr Center is committed to integrating abstract work in ethical theory with the informed discussion of practical ethical issues, and prides itself on the development of innovative and inclusive approaches to moral and civic education. Learn more about how TED-Ed partnerships work: https://bit.ly/TEDEdPartner Support Our Non-Profit MissionSupport us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon Check out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShopConnect With UsSign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagramKeep LearningView full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/platos-infamous-ship-of-state-thought-experiment-michael-vazquez Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/platos-infamous-ship-of-state-thought-experiment-michael-vazquez/digdeeper Animator's website: https://mrflama.com Music: https://soundcloud.com/aim-musicThank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, Brian A. Dunn, Francisco Amaya, Daisuke Goto, Matt Switzler, Peng, Tzu-Hsiang, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, Boffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, paul g mohney, Steven Razey, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, Annastasshia Ames, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Karmi Nguyen, John C. Vesey, Yelena Baykova, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Sebastiaan Vleugels, Karl Laius, JY Kang, and Abhishek Goel. Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:35:16 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://vid.freedif.org https://vid.freedif.org/client/assets/images/icons/icon-1500x1500.png https://vid.freedif.org/videos/watch/9a9ac151-e6fc-4c85-8598-59fea7a99182 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://vid.freedif.org/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.