9.9: Will the Just Person Take Part in Politics?
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See 592a-b. Yes, the just person would be willing to take part in politics, Socrates thinks, but only “in his own city,” the aristocratic city. Should someone object that such a city is purely theoretical and has never existed on earth, Socrates’ reply is that “there may perhaps be a model of it in the heavens” – the form of justice, presumably – “for anyone who wishes to look at it and to found himself on the basis of what he sees.”
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Socrates suggests that the just person won’t take part in politics in the non- aristocratic city, because the honors involved “might overthrow the established condition of his soul.” But how? What threat does he have in mind?
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Can a wise politician do good only in a just city?
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What political obligations does a just person have in an unjust world?