Talking about Justice —— Excerpted from Utopia

Socrates: When we call a man a sailor, we don't consider whether he is at sea or not. We don't call him a sailor because he is on a ship. He is called a helmsman because of his sailing skills and ability to lead sailors on board, not just because he is on board.

Socrates: Riding a horse should also be for the benefit of the horse, not for the horse itself. It can be said that because skills are not attractive to other things, any skill only serves its object, not itself.

Sarasu Máthōs: No matter who is just or just, it only serves the strong or rulers, and it cannot serve the people who suffer under the rule. On the contrary, injustice is used to restrain and control honest and upright people. The common people worked hard for the pleasure of being an official, but in the end they got nothing. Compared with unjust people, just people can never take advantage. Let's talk about business. If there is a partnership between just people and unjust people, I have only seen just people get less, but I have never seen them get more. The same is true of work. If two people have the same income, just people always pay more taxes, while unjust people pay less taxes. When it is profitable, most of the money still falls into the pockets of unjust people, and just people always get nothing at this time. Besides holding public office, you will always find that even if an upright person does not suffer in other aspects, his career will not develop satisfactorily because he has no time to take care of it. They will always be influenced by the concept of justice, unwilling to serve the public interest for private interests, and will inevitably offend relatives and friends. On the contrary, unjust people always have a smooth career. What I want to say is those who always have the ability to take advantage of the big ones, so that you can clearly understand that injustice can bring more benefits to people than justice. Therefore, doing the greatest injustice is often more powerful and imposing than justice. I said at the beginning that justice works for the interests of the strong, but for individuals, injustice is more profitable.

Socrates: You said that shepherds don't have to think about the sheep themselves, they just need to feed them, and then, like a greedy ghost, they concentrate on the delicious mutton. The skill of grazing still lies in how to maximize the benefits of sheep. After all, the pursuit of skill perfection is to provide more benefits for the object. But I think it is necessary for us to agree with the view that no matter what kind of ruler is under his rule, whether it is official or private, he must always consider the interests of his own people.

Socrates: Any skill, including domination, as we just mentioned, all uses and deployments only seek benefits for its recipients (the weak), not for their own interests, that is, not for the interests of the strong. Therefore, as I said just now, there are always few people who voluntarily rule and win over others. As a ruler, he must be paid, so when he uses the ruling skill, he only relies on this skill to serve the object of his rule, and all his efforts are not for himself. Then, whoever is willing to do this job, regardless of fame and fortune, should be paid accordingly, and whoever is unwilling to do it will be punished.