A superficial reading of the remarks presented by Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic might lead one to believe that he makes genuine points in order to contest the claims of Socrates. His claims are even to a great extent echoed by philosophers working years after Plato’s life and even in the chapters following Book 1. Plato certainly sees that the points that Thrasymachus interjects are worth entertaining because they are copied almost identically by Glaucon later in the work. These objections are the starting point for the rest of the philosophical discussion of justice and its merit. While Thrasymachus and Glaucon have positions that are very similar to each other, Plato’s text makes the important distinction between the two. Thrasymachus
