Republic: Book II Summary

Glaucon and Adeimantus are not satisfied with Socrates' response to Thrasymachus and offer arguments in favor of the belief that the unjust are better off than the just, though they make it clear that they do not themselves believe that. The only reason people act justly, Glaucon claims, is because they are compelled to; being the victim of injustice is a greater evil than the good that comes from committing an injustice and, therefore, people enter into a kind of contract with one another and make laws prohibiting injustice. However, if a person could get away with committing injustice they would always be willing to do so, proving that no one is just for any reason but the consequences. Furthermore, if one were to consider a thoroughly unjust man and a thoroughly just man, it is obvious that the...