Throughout history, many scholars have attempted to develop the perfect governing body. Three of these major scholars, Plato; Jefferson; and Aristotle, have had a great impact on our government. The most influential of the three on contemporary US society is Jefferson. In contemporary US society, the individual comes first. Individual rights have been promoted throughout our history. The ruling party has been used to enforce these rights. Occasionally, the state is placed before the individual …showed first 75 words of 768 total…

…showed last 75 words of 768 total…relevant today and will continue that relevance as long as contemporary U.S. society continues to value equality and the rights of men, and a peoples government. Works Cited: Jacobus, Lee A, ed. A World of Ideas. Boston: Bedford, 2002. Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee A Jacobus. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 78 81. Plato. "The Allegory of the Cave." A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee A Jacobus. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2002. 315 23.