Justice Pays. Analysis of Plato's Republic and the concept of justice

Plato's argument for the benefits of a just life is intrinsically linked to his definition of good and its relation to people's desires. He begins by showing that when the objective of a desire is simple (e.g. quenching a thirst), the desire must be correspondingly simple. Since thirst is a simple desire, the man's objective must also be simplistic and should we assign an adjective to his objective, we would falsely complicate it. In …

…parts and any others there may be in between, and from having been many things he becomes entirely one, moderate and harmonious" (443d). Since the aristocrat regulates the three parts of the soul, keeps them in order, unites them, and has experienced the pleasures of each, he is in the best position to determine what is best for the whole. Thus the man who leads a just or aristocratic life also leads the best life.