COMPARE THE POLITICAL THINKING OF THRASYMACHUS IN `THE REPUBLIC` & NICCOLLO MAVHIVELLI IN `THE PRINCE`

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Thrasymachus and Machiavelli on Politics

Politics has been the most favorite object of debate since the ancient period . As an evidence of such , the great Greek philosopher Plato included and elaborated his immediate notions and arguments about politics and his ideal way of government (the Kallipolis ) in his book the Republic . Among the characters that Plato used throughout his book is Thrasymachus , especially in his quest to establish the concept of justice and proving that just life is far more beneficial than the unjust

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Thrasymachus provides his initial political thought in his distinction of the ruler and the ruled (Plato , 345c5-e2 ' He also talks about the nature and function of laws , the beneficiaries of laws , and those who do not benefit from them . Above all his arguments , he emphasizes the idea of the strong party ' - that which implies that justice is the advantage of the stronger (Plato , 343b-344c . His arguments are directed towards his attempt to defend the idea that justice is not really something that is naturally pursued by human beings . However , it is something that is sought for the attainment of more advantages . In this regard , he sets up two classes , the rulers , who are consisted of the stronger class of people , and the ruled , who are the weaker class of people . It is lucid that as a ruler , he is the one who sets the rule or the laws while the ruled are the follower of those established rules

In 3388c-339a , Thrasymachus attempts to defend his assertion that justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger (Plato He uses the analogy about the shepherd and the sheep in which the shepherd is the one who commands the sheep and the latter is the one who is being commanded by the shepherd and the one who follows the former . This is so because the shepherd has the better knowledge of what things are best not only for himself but also for the good of the sheep Perhaps it is due to the fact that he benefits from tending the sheep (like getting money from selling them . At the same time , the sheep are benefited because they eat the good kind of grasses , and they are secured from some voracious wild animals such as wolves . By ruling them the ruler gets particular advantages and the ruled also gets their own interests

In a more profound explanation , what Thrasymachus suggests is that because of the fact that the stronger is the ruler and the ruler sets the laws or rules in the society , it is understandable that what interests them or what gives them the highest pleasure and utmost advantages is the which is right and the opposite is that which is wrong . The ruler imposes which is the right thing to do . The ruler sets the distribution of wealth , etc . Thus , justice , which generally means giving what is due to a one person , is really something that is made in the...