  One of the most striking features of the ideal city is its abolition  of private families and sharp limitation on private property in the  two guardian classes. Starting with Aristotle (Politics II 1–5), this communism in the  Republic’s ideal city has been the target of confusion and  criticism (see Nussbaum 1980, Stalley 1991, Mayhew 1997). On the one hand, Aristotle (at Politics  1264a11–22) and others have expressed uncertainty about the extent of communism in the ideal city. On the other, they have argued that communism of any extent has no place in an ideal political community.