What is justice? Why do men behave justly? Is it because they fear the consequences of injustice? Is it worthwhile to be just? Is justice a good thing in and of itself regardless of its rewards or punishments? Speaking through his teacher Socrates, Plato attempts to answer these questions in the Republic. In book I Thrasymachus, a rival of Socrates makes the claim that justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger. It does not pay to be just because those who behave unjustly naturally gain power and become the rulers of society. Justice is what unjust rulers say is right through the rules that they make. It is injustice that is the source of happiness#. Plato sets out to disprove Thrasymachus' argument and provide an accurate definition of justice through which he will demonstrate that justice is good and desirable and it is in our best interests to adhere to it. Plato claims that there are two kinds of justice, individual and political. Since the city is larger than the individual it is easier to find justice at the political level and later inquire as to whether there is any similar concept to be found in the individual. To locate political justice he builds up a completely just city and observes where justice enters it.# Through the examination of this city Plato shows that both the ideal city and the just individual are balanced and structured through a principle of specialization, both are governed by reason brought forth by education, and justice is good in it of itself because of these reasons.
Instead of defining justice as a set of behavioural norms Plato identifies justice as a set of structural relationships among the parts of the whole.# Political justice is accomplished as harmony in a structured political body. Each indi ...