It is worth pointing out that Plato did not see it this way. He believed that philosophers were the best people to rule because they were "disinterested", meaning they only had the interests of the state in mind, not their own interest. Plato's point was this: if you want to rule, then it will go wrong, because power will corrupt you. If you are a philosopher, you don't care about power all you care about is truth, so you will rule well, without being interested in your power or status.