Worth getting your head around. So much of our world today is derived from this book. For instance the education system is directly, with the distinction between grammar schools, technical schools and for hoi polloi. Or the structure of the state, ruled over by guardians. Indeed the The Guardian newspaper is named after these wise elders whose role shapes an unknowing society. His metaphor of the cave directly foreshadows our modern media-driven world. Even his Theory of the Forms feeds directly into what we call intellectual property.
Everyone should read this at very least to know what what we are up against as in many respects this book rules our world.