Editing Epicureanism (section)

====Politics====
{{blockquote|It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.<ref name="classics">{{cite web |url=http://classics.mit.edu/Epicurus/princdoc.html |title=Epicurus Principal Doctrines 5 and 31 transl. by Robert Drew Hicks |date=1925 }}("Justly" here means to prevent a "person from harming or being harmed by another".)</ref>}} 
The Epicurean understanding of [[justice]] was inherently self-interested. Justice was deemed good because it was seen as mutually beneficial.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010e">{{harvnb|O'Keefe|2010|pp=139–140}}</ref> Individuals would not act unjustly even if the act was initially unnoticed because of possibly being caught and punished.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010d">{{harvnb|O'Keefe|2010|pp=142–145}}</ref> Both punishment and fear of punishment would cause a person disturbance and prevent them from being happy.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010d" />

Epicurus was also an early thinker to develop the notion of justice as a [[social contract]], and in part attempts to address issues with the society described in [[Plato]]'s ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]''.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010a">{{harvnb|O'Keefe|2010|pp=139–142}}</ref> The social contract theory established by Epicureanism is based on mutual agreement, not divine decree.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010a" /> He defined justice as an agreement made by people not to harm each other.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010e" /> The point of living in a society with laws and punishments is to be protected from harm so that one is free to pursue happiness.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010a" /> Because of this, laws that do not contribute to promoting human happiness are not just.<ref name="O'Keefe-2010a" /> He gave his own unique version of the [[ethic of reciprocity]], which differs from other formulations by emphasizing minimizing harm and maximizing happiness for oneself and others.

Epicurean ideas on politics disagree with other philosophical traditions, namely the Stoic, Platonist and [[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian]] traditions.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge companion to epicureanism|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|editor-last=Warren |editor-first=James |isbn=9780521873475|location=Cambridge, UK|oclc=297147109}}</ref> To Epicureans all our social relations are a matter of how we perceive each other, of customs and traditions. No one is inherently of higher value or meant to dominate another.<ref name="worldcat.org"/> That is because there is no metaphysical basis for the superiority of one kind of person, all people are made of the same atomic material and are thus naturally equal.<ref name="worldcat.org"/> Epicureans also discourage political participation and other involvement in politics.<ref name="worldcat.org"/> However Epicureans are not [[apolitical]], it is possible that some political association could be seen as beneficial by some Epicureans.<ref name="Cambridge University Press"/> Some political associations could lead to certain benefits to the individual that would help to maximize pleasure and avoid physical or mental distress.<ref name="Cambridge University Press"/>