Justice in the American Constitution and Classical Greece Comparison Essay by Calwriter

To compare the conception of justice in The Federalist Paper 51 with Plato's in the "Phaedo," might seem to be an exercise in injustice, as the two works have such different aims. Hamilton/Madison, otherwise known as 'Publius', was attempting to create a more unified form of government than the Articles of Confederation which then governed the American nation, before the ratification of the American Constitution that governs the country today. This paper shows that the true Greek Plato, speaking as the dying Socrates, had different concerns than the faux Greek Publius. Plato's concerns were more abstract than Publius. He wished to create a philosophical kingdom of oligarchic leadership where every person perfectly and justly fulfilled his or her function according to his or her abilities. The paper shows that for Plato, the purpose of government was to create a way of enabling a higher philosophical consciousness in the citizens, not enabling them to obtain the economic and physical means to enjoy a better bodily life.