In an oligarchic government, both classes of guardian have been pressed into the service of a ruling group comprising a few powerful and wealthy citizens. “Government of the few, where the power is in the hands of men for whom wealth is the end of life.” A person in this society would devote every thought and action to the achievement of amassing greater wealth, and that desire for wealth would create a war between the upper and lower class in that society. Thus the reason this is not the ideal society.
A defective timocratic society is one where the courageous soldiers that founded the state have decided they should be the decision making body and have taken that privilege, which should belong to the more able and educated rulers, for themselves. A timocratic person is, therefore, someone who is more concerned with defending an idea of honor and obligation than looking at all other alternatives and truly choosing what is best.
Even more disastrous is a democratic government. This type of government promises equality for all of its citizens by allowing each a voice in all matters, but delivers only allows a stage on which to allow its members the freedom to engage in the pursiut of private interests. It is Plato’s opinion that “a democratic government could only exist in a small city-state.” This form of government also violated Plato’s belief that each man should stick to the position they were best designed for. The end result of this form is an unruly mob totally controlled by desire and willing to exceed any limitations to fulfill their appetites.
Despotism, a government ruled by one person, often leads to trannic rule. In this society, a single individual has gained control of the mob and brought about peace to the state, but a tyrant cators to only his personal interests without consideration to the state as a whole. Plato believed that Tranny paved the way for democracy as a means for one ruler to stay in control while giving the appearance of doing what is right for the majority of the people. A tyrranic person is one who spends his entire life satisfying his own desires, while sacrificing everything else that matters. Governments of this type are the least desired type-- as it promotes the highest level of unjustice.
Lastly, the society that exhibits the highest degree of justice, according to Plato, is described as that of Crete and Sparta--as an aristocratic government. An aristocracy, according to Plato, is the highest contrast from a tyrannical government and the only government where it and its people show a genuine ability to balance the divisions of individual and state equally.
Therefore, to address the question “Does the just or unjust man lead a happy and profitable life”—after analyzing the societies that produce each type of individual and seeing each individual degenerate differently in each different society, the only true answer is that it depends of what type of society we are analyzing. In order for a completely just man to profit, as Plato described, he must be a just man in an aristocratic society. Simarly, an unjust man would not profit in that society. Yet, that same just and unjust individual would experience different degrees of happiness and success if they were subject to the different models of government. In modern context, the United States is a democracy. As such, it would be far more profitable for a man to be unjust and seek only his desires by employing any means necessary in order to fulfill those appetites than it would be for a just man to pursue an honest career. The just man would be seen as the unjust as his reputation and image were both tarnished, while the unjust man would lie and pay money to have his reputation seen as creditable. As Plato described, in all fairness, we should strive for a society that promotes the balance of our in order to achieve a safe society that promotes just living in such a way that unjustice is simply not the alternative.
Another conclusion to be made is that it is simply easier to be just than unjust. The just individual, likewise, the just state, would find it far better to be honest than to lie and try to keep track of all the avenues and networks it has formed through those lies with different people and different states. Thus, the effortless harmony of the souls of the just individual cause them to profit because the truth is only natural. Whereas an unjust person would have to work three times as hard to maintain the truth as well as the lies told in an attempt to achieve a result through the least resistance and least effort. Yet, as Plato concludes, the real profit would go to the man who lead the just life simply in terms of “rewards and punishment after death.”
Plato. The Republic of Plato, 267
