>>>>In "The Republic", Glaucon uses the Ring
of Gyges as a fable to illustrate his belief
that justice is simply a set of conventions
that we obey not because they're good in themselves,
but because we fear the consequences of disobeying
the law. Imagine in our own society that the
IRS had no enforcement power. That we as a
society set tax rates that the IRS sent you
a bill at the beginning of every year for
your taxes, but that if you didn't pay them
there were no consequences. The IRS couldn't
confiscate your property. They couldn't throw
you in jail. Would you pay your taxes in this
scenario? Or would you tell yourself that
you were going to pay your taxes and then
when the middle of April rolled around find
some excuse, some rationalization why you
had something better to do with your money?
What does this say about the nature of justice?
Do you obey the law because it's just or do
you obey the law because you fear the consequences?
Does this make you a just or an unjust person?
