In Book II of Plato’s Republic, Socrates discusses the cities of necessity and luxury (372d–373a). Discussions of these cities have often focused on citizens desiring more than they need, which creates a demand for luxury. Yet the second part of the equation, which is not usually recognized, is that there must be sufficient supply to meet this demand. The focus of this article is on the importance of supply in the discussion of the first two cities in Book II of the Republic. This article argues that the way Plato models the cities makes it the case that a surplus above levels of necessity will be generated from time to time. That the unwanted surplus cannot be spontaneously disposed of entails that the first two cities are institutionally incomplete. A government is needed in order to coordinate the disposal of the surplus supply the city will produce.

中文翻译：

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柏拉图共和国政府效率低下的必要性

在柏拉图的第二卷共和国, 苏格拉底讨论了必需品和奢华的城市 (372d–373a)。对这些城市的讨论往往集中在渴望超过他们需要的公民身上，这产生了对奢侈品的需求。然而，等式的第二部分，通常不被认可，是必须有足够的供应来满足这种需求。本文的重点是供应在第二册前两个城市的讨论中的重要性。共和国. 本文认为，柏拉图对城市建模的方式使得不时会产生超出必要水平的盈余。不想要的剩余不能自发地处理，这意味着前两个城市在制度上是不完整的。需要一个政府来协调处理城市将产生的过剩供应。