Social Justice and Happiness in the Republic: Plato's Two Principles

History of Political Thought 22 (2):189-220 (2001)
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Abstract

rally best suited’. One would ordinarily suppose social justice to concern not only the allocation of duties but also the distribution of benefits. I argue that this expectation is fulfilled not by Plato’s conception of social justice, but by the normative basis for it, Plato’s requirement of aiming at the happiness of all the citizens. I argue that Plato treats social justice as a necessary but not sufficient means to happiness that guarantees only the production of the greatest goods; ensuring that these goods are distributed so as to maximize the happiness of the whole city..

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Rachana Kamtekar
Cornell University

Citations of this work

Knowledge and Power in Plato’s Political Thought.Thom Brooks - 2006 - International Journal of Philosophical Studies 14 (1):51 – 77.

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References found in this work

Contractualism and utilitarianism.Thomas M. Scanlon - 1982 - In Amartya Kumar Sen & Bernard Arthur Owen Williams (eds.), Utilitarianism and Beyond. Cambridge University Press. pp. 103--128.
Justice and Equality.Gregory Vlastos - 1984 - In Louis P. Pojman & Robert Westmoreland (eds.), Equality: Selected Readings. Oup Usa.
Plato.Julia Annas - 1986 - Royal Institute of Philosophy Lectures 20 (2):1-2.
Plato. [REVIEW]Julia Annas - 1985 - The Classical Review 35 (2):400-401.

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