Book Two – Why Are We Just?

Most action movies today have the theme of the antagonist desiring great power. He wants to avenge some wrong. He wants to rise up against an oppressor. He goes out on his personal vendetta, exacting his revenge, and protecting his self-interest.

Sometimes the news feels like the movies. Recently there was a story about a U.S. Congressman wrapping ninety thousand dollars in tin foil and putting it in his freezer. There are stories of corporate corruption and celebrities getting no serious penalties for their latest drug escapades. It is easy to start to doubt justice. In Plato’s Republic Book 2, Glaucon and Adiemantus starts to ask the question of whether justice is something we do because we are compelled by law or because it is the highest end.

Glaucon, a student of Socrates, was not convinced enough by Socrates’ argument against Thrasymachus’ view of justice in Book 1. Glaucon wanted to know the what was justice “not because we desire its consequences but because we delight in it for its own sake.” Socrates says that justice is the highest form of good and beauty. Glaucon points out that that is not the popular point of view.

Glaucon lays out the opinion that justice is something that men do because they have to. The good of injustice fully out weighs the bad. It is even profitable. He asks, what is life if you have to suffer an injustice but can not avenge it?

If the just man and the unjust man were both given the opportunity to perform injustice, Glaucon says they would both take it. Glaucon gives the story of a great ring, which gave a person to the power to see into the private lives of whoever he wants. The person would be able to use it to their own personal advantage. Glaucon claims the just man would use the ring if he could.

Adeimantus claims that reputation is a primary motivation for someone to be just. A solid reputation with the gods is very important. It allows someone passage into the after life. It also allows them to have stronger relationships with their friends. Poets have a great regard for justice but it can be hard and seem like drudgery. It is hard to desire the drudgery of justice when injustice is so abundant.

Instead of first talking about justice of an individual man, Socrates decides to talk about the justice of a whole city. With words, they decide to paint the picture of what a just city is like. They both agree that a city must exist because man is not self-sufficient

The people in the city will have a variety of needs. People need food, housing, and clothing. There needs to be people that will fill each of the individual roles. They agree that it is best for the city to have one man practicing one role rather than one man practicing many roles.

The city slowly gets bigger and bigger. Peoples’ needs grow from the basics to the luxuries of relishes and couches. There is also need for a professional army because a volunteer army would not get the job done. There would need to be people to watch over, train, and educate these professional warriors.

They recognize that there are things that feed a man’s soul. Spoken and written word has a great effect on people. There needs to be someone to watch over the poets. They want to make sure that only the poetry that promotes justice is heard by the public.

People in a city will look up to the gods as examples of how they should live their own lives. The city will need gods that do not fight or plot against one another. The gods are all-knowing and all-powerful good beings. The poets must tell great stories of the gods’ virtue, even if they have to rewrite some of history.

In a just city, we each have our own role. We do what is best for us but we also do what is best for the city. We do what is just because it is what we are supposed to do. If we do not do what is right and what is just then how can we survive as one whole city. It will turn into every man for himself. All that is private will turn public. If the city does not survive , the people will not either. We have to live together. Famous British novelist Charles Dickens once said, “Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door.”