Statecraft as a Ruling, Caring, and Weaving dunamis
Chapter 10 focusses on Statesman 303d4-305e7 and considers the Visitor’s seemingly three definitions of statecraft in the dialogue: 305c10-d5, 305e2-6, and 311b7-c7. By focusing on the role of the dunamis of given forms of expertise, and the metaphorical method of smelting metals at work in this section of the dialogue, it argues that a definition of statecraft (hē politikē) as ruling, caring, and weaving is reached in 305e2-6 and then fleshed out in 311b7-c7 by the explication of the ergon (task) which it is the role of that dunamis to accomplish. This is broadly consonant with a passage in Republic 5 identifying any given dunamis in terms of that over which it is set and what it accomplishes (apergazetai), a schema filled out in the Statesman by explicit reference to the ergon of a dunamis (305c4-5). Political expertise is not a passive body of knowledge but rather actively and precisely organized toward the realization of its distinctive task.