USA
On the onset of the Republic, Plato defines justice as "doing one's own job." This idea corresponds to the city as a whole, wherefore if everyone is doing their own work, then a city is just. He also states that to be successful, the society must not let classes get entangled, such as letting a farmer rule the state. If this happens, the just state will be deformed and eventually turn into a democracy leading to nothing but chaos, in Plato's eyes. Using Plato's definitions of "justice" and "success," the United States can be viewed as a type of democracy, where these values are only somewhat present. Monetarily, the United States can be viewed as successful, but that is not success in Plato's mind. Not only do I think Plato is correct in his definitions, but I also believe that with the slightest error, chaos could be in our future. As previously mentioned, Plato believes justice in the state and in the individual stems from the belief that one person should not impose on another person's work and just do his own thing. Using this definition, Plato would view our government as unjust because our auxillaries, the senate and congress, is made up of individuals who are businessmen, farmers, and entertainers. They could not
Obviously, where injustice exists in society, it can not be successful. Only when a state is just is it successful. When all members of a community do not infringe on each other's work and possessions, they contribute to the common good of society. The farmer helps out the carpenter and the carpenter helps out the farmer. I mention possession into this discussion because if one dedicates himself to his own work, then it is understood he will earn a profit somewhere along the line. With these profits, he will buy certain objects and they become his possessions. His own work merited him these objects. So if one cannot infringe in another person's work, then he can not also infringe in the fruits of another's work. If this happens, then an injustice occurs and society will not be successful. In this example, we see how justice intermingles with success, and without the one, the ladder will not be present. These examples all can pertain to the United States. Seeing that our democracy is not just and there is this entanglement, it cannot be wholly successful. We may strive forward financially, but often this occurs out of injustices between individuals or businesses. Besides our government, the other distinguishing characteristic of the United States is its financial status. We have, over a short period of time, accumulated great wealth. This wealth comes out of our business. Many businesses gain wealth through injustices. Injustices mainly include discrimination and greed. An example of discrimination is Microsoft. Due to its great wealth, Microsoft has an unfair advantage over smaller businesses and usually buys out their competition. If this was a just society, each business would
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1156
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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