In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, I agree that the masses are too stubborn and ignorant to be able to rule themselves. However, just as taught by Confucius in 500bc, through education, people need to be taught to open their minds from the primitive-irrational to the rational and intellectual so that they are given the tools to rule themselves; the same concept as teaching a man to fish. This is done through education, harmony, virtue, and prosperity. The ignorant, stubborn, and irrational are set in their ways until they obtain intellectual wisdoms of a more harmonious, self-governing, and higher level of thinking. If I could put a story to this it would be as if a barbarian tribe for centuries were constantly battling each other and always watching their numbers diminish. Their tactics are to grow stronger and defeat the other. Their unforeseen tactic is to unify with another tribe and become more powerful and resourceful. The battling tribes will fight until they defeat the other tribe; however, more-than-likely there will be other tribes in the area they will also have to fight and that are planning their destruction with the same mindset. This is an example of the mindset of primitive man. However, the tribe that unifies, either by force or by means of peace, becomes greater and more powerful, and as seen in history, is more likely to defeat other tribes and protect itself. I think this unforeseen option of unity is the first examples of a higher level of thinking by primitive man. Then of course each tribe offer some form of storytelling as a means of education which allows the knowledge of the elders to pass to their offsprings. This form of education has the power to create harmony and the ability to further the evolution of the thought processes to which always eventually provides innovation and human advancement. If I could sum this in a single phrase it would be that education is the vessel to transcend the human primitive mind to the state of the divine where humans can rule themself and create harmony, virtue, liberty, prosperity, and advancement for all of their kind (and perhaps intelligent life).
Regarding the Theory of Forms in which we associate with objects of our own definitive understandings, like that of the shadows in Plato's caves, I find to be self relative as well as collective-relative if in a group. If we were a person in the cave alone, it could be a different interpretation of the shadows rather than having a group to help define the shadows. Regardless if one is interpreting a shadow by themselves or in a group, they both have the same psychological analytical processes. Although the shadows seem real because of being in a cave for so long, once released into the real world, the mind will adapt to the new collective. I think this fits the same narrative as the truth will set you free. In this case self discover taking on the psychological effect of personal-analysis as way of self-education to which expands then mind. Regarding the true definition of forms, just as Hume stated, there is no complete objective proof that an object truly exists, for the proof would have to be in reality itself. Perhaps the exploration of micro quantum mechanics or the study of dimensions can give us an idea of what may be reality, but there is always the possibility that the argument of what is reality, or the forms in reality to which we interpret and define, may not have an answer-at-all but a series of properties. I suppose an example for this could be looking at a tiny metallic surface of a colossal hard-to-see almost infinite gear which is part of a larger mechanism, or a single cell which is part of a more larger function and body.
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