On different sides of the barricade. In Krytyka, No. 12 (110), 2006, pp. 12–14.

The article examines the deep philosophical confrontation between Plato and Diogenes as symbols of two opposing types of thinking — authoritarian-idealistic and anarchic-realistic. Onfre criticizes Platonism for its detachment from life, for the creation of utopian constructs that justify power and the subordination of the individual to the state. In contrast, Diogenes of Sinope appears as a philosopher of freedom, corporeality, and individual autonomy, who denies any hierarchy and calls for life in harmony with nature.

The author draws parallels between these two positions in history, from antiquity to the 21st century, showing how Platonism gave rise to ideologies of totalitarianism, while the Diogenesian line nurtured a spirit of resistance, criticism, and radical ethics. Onfray emphasizes that the choice between Plato and Diogenes is a choice between humility and freedom, between power and life.