The Republic is a joke, the idea of Communism is set up to show how absurd it is. Like the section on gymnastics, where the men and women are all the same, and therefore how incest would be fine because everyone is completely equal to one another (including men, women, and their offspring) were all used as examples to show the utter absurdity of it all. This is just one part of the Republic, not really the main issue at all.
Keep in mind that Socrates' (through Plato, as Socrates only spoke, any written record of his teachings is carried out through Plato) most oft used tool was irony. Much of what he said should be taken with a grain of salt. If you want a much less sarcastic perspective on what Socrates and Plato taught, read Aristotle (Plato's disciple). He did not fully agree with what his predecessors said, but many of the main points are quite similar.
However, I do agree that those that missed the joke (Lenin and Stalin mostly though Marx to a certain extent as well) have caused a lot of problems in today's society, but Plato shouldn't be held responsible for his bastardized teachings thousands of years after the fact. Also to defend Marx, he actually had a decent idea that was completely ruined by Lenin and Stalin. Dictatorship of the proletariat!? Marx rolls in his grave every time that gets mentioned.
Keep in mind that Socrates' (through Plato, as Socrates only spoke, any written record of his teachings is carried out through Plato) most oft used tool was irony. Much of what he said should be taken with a grain of salt. If you want a much less sarcastic perspective on what Socrates and Plato taught, read Aristotle (Plato's disciple). He did not fully agree with what his predecessors said, but many of the main points are quite similar.
However, I do agree that those that missed the joke (Lenin and Stalin mostly though Marx to a certain extent as well) have caused a lot of problems in today's society, but Plato shouldn't be held responsible for his bastardized teachings thousands of years after the fact. Also to defend Marx, he actually had a decent idea that was completely ruined by Lenin and Stalin. Dictatorship of the proletariat!? Marx rolls in his grave every time that gets mentioned.