View of Justice
Thrasymachus believes that there is no justice in the society. He gives an allegory of a shepherd; why a shepherd looks after the cattle to ensure that they are fat. It is not that the shepherd cares about the cattle, but he does so for purposes of the masters and the people who eat meat. In the same vein, he argues that justice means differed things to different individuals. The perfect example of an unjust person to Thrasymachus is the tyrant because he uses “by stealth and force takes away what belongs to others, both what is sacred and profane, private and public, not bit by bit, but all at once” (344a).
Thrasymachus has three perceptions about injustice a) favoring the more resilient (338c), b) adherence to the law (339c) together with c) doing to others what we would want being done to us (343c) that an unjust person sets rules in the society with his advantages in his mind. He tells Socrates that if he cannot understand the construct of injustices, which he will the most naïve person. First, in a contract between a just person and an unjust, the unjust will always get more on the termination of the contract than the just. That will be despite the fact that the just will have contributed more in the contract.
Thrasymachus believes that the society has three types of people; the unjust tyrant, the people ruled by the tyrant and the last category of powerful individual who do not care about the rules and laws set by the tyrant (343b). The tyrant is always looking to exploit his constituents with unjust laws and unfair wages while the ruled just do what is expected of them. The third category is comprised of free individuals who follow their mind, like Socrates, and they are beyond being exploited by the leaders.
The story of Gyges Ring
Shepherd Gyges finds a ring could be used to perform magic. It was found after an earthquake exposed a bronze horse. He seduces the queen into killing her husband and take over power. (Plato, 359c) Glaucon explained the tale by saying that, by nature, people are unjust. If a just man had collected the ring, he would have done the same. Hence, people are out to make the most out of situations, and the idea of justice came in as a compromise reached out by the just and unjust, after experiences of being on either of the receiving end.
Thrasymachus view is correct
Thrasymachus idea of justice was correct because it explains the real practice, where people enter into contracts without giving as much as they would want to receive. Tyrants want the people to remain poor and worship them, as they enjoy the exploits of power. Ideally, the only person who is free from injustice is the individual who does not give much attention to the events happening in the society, people who choose to concentrate on their missions and lives.
If people were fair to each other, the issue of justice would not be a worldly problem. But as everyone tries to disenfranchise the other person for selfish gains, there emerges the ruler and the ruled class. These two classes of people live on cyclical unjust contracts, with the tyrant winning every single moment. Relating it to the story of the Gyges ring, one can say that the just and the unjust are the same people, only that the just are short one opportunity.
References
Arp, R. (n.d.). 20th WCP: The Double Life of Justice and Injustice in Thrasymachus' Account. Retrieved from https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Anci/AnciArp.htm
Plato. (n.d.). Republic 359d-360c. Retrieved from sites.wofford.edu/kaycd/plato/
