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Socrates on the Nature of the City-State

In Plato's Republic, Socrates investigates the nature of the city-state and what the ideal city-state should be. The primary subject of The Republic is justice, examined in broad terms. Socrates discusses a variety of views on justice and types of justice, one of which is offered by Thrasymachus. Justice is a concept we believe we understand even if we have difficulty putting the concept into words. Justice is defined by the relationship that exists between the individual and the state, and justice means that the state treats every person equally and seeks to resolve disputes on the basis of the facts and compared to objective criteria rather than a subjective determination. Justice in the broadest sense is fairness. Justice cannot assure that every dispute comes out "correctly" or that no mistakes are made, but it should be such as to assure that the process by which decisions are made and goods allocated is fair and produces an acceptable result in the aggregate, even if an individual case justice might fail. Justice occurs when the distribution of political power and economic opportunity is as uniform as possible or when the social and political system is such that they tend toward a just distribution even if it is not achieved. Thrasymachus is led to state that the life of the unjust person is better than the life of a just one, specifically because being unjust is more profitable, but Socrates guides the discussion to a different conclusion:

But now, if justice is indeed wisdom and virtue, it will easily be shown to be stronger than injustice, since injustice is ignorance. . . (Grube 27).

He states that injustice produces hatred wherever it occurs, and further that injustice has the power to debilitate whatever unit it occurs in, whether a city, a family, an army, or any other entity. Socrates' most important argument may be that the gods are just, which would mean that an unjust person is an enemy of the gods:

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Socrates on the Nature of the City-State. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 00:50, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1690320.html