Republic, Plato

As to the potential for war, because the society of the Republic is closed, there would be no dependency on the outside world. He's concerned about those city-states governed differently and that have a proclivity for war.

"FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY, TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEED ..."
I was trying to make the link to that "function" in the Marx sense which is directly tied to economic need, whereas for Plato what matters above all is for people to be groomed for their class accordingly.

Yes, I agree Plato IS concerned about the question of war, and I think he does want his reader to think about what type of war would count as just.
But I don’t follow your idea that the Republic is “closed”. The book includes a clear discussion of wars, and claims that war with foreign enemies is a natural and necessary aspect of the regime. Here Plato is not expressing his point directly. He has Socrates present an extreme/provocative example to draw attention to the issue of war/relations between different regimes.

Quote:

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"FROM EACH ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY, TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEED ..."
I was trying to make the link to that "function" in the Marx sense which is directly tied to economic need, whereas for Plato what matters above all is for people to be groomed for their class accordingly.

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Very sorry but I don’t understand this point. How are they linked other than the idea that both discuss a division of labour somewhere in their work?

Please disregard this post - mistake.

About the Marx reference, I meant that Marx is concerned with the self only insofar as individual function is tied to "need" but more importantly to social order. In other words, Marx is not concerned with what people do for a living, so long as the output contributes to the larger social purpose. In Plato, we have this notion of "function" determined by intellect but directed toward social order as well. In both systems, function is more or less predetermined.