In this dialogue Socrates, Odysseus, and Alessandro discuss whether it is better do wrong than to suffer wrong. They argue their points of view in a small café in upstate New York. During their argument, they remain civilized and well mannered while pointing out each other's flaws in argument. Their discussion begins after observing a man steal from the café and run off while another man is falsely accused for the other man's crime.

Socrates: "What a shame that man has to suffer through. He had no wrongdoing; yet he is wrongfully blamed for that man's actions. Wouldn't you agree Odysseus?"

Odysseus: "Socrates, I do not agree for this could be punishment by Zeus for an offensive action towards the gods. I do consider the thief a coward, however."

Socrates: "But he's suffering for a thief. I would declare that to do wrong is worse than to suffer wrong for doing wrong is purposeful. To do wrong, such as steal, is considered evil for inflicting pain or suffrage on another man."

Odysseus: "But some men have no other desire than to inflict suffrage on their rivals. They simply take pleasure from it. Perhaps they consider what you take pleasure in is evil."

Socrates: "My pleasures do not inflict any sort of pain, Odysseus."

Odysseus: "Perhaps they do to others. Doing wrong is better than suffering wrong for you are aware of your actions and the consequences your actions permit, yet you cannot resist your desire to carry out this action."

Socrates: "Is inflicting pain on another man considered righteous to you Odysseus?"

Odysseus: "No but a man should not let the worry of others interfere with his desires."

Socrates: "I am a firm believer in thinking of others before yourself, Odysseus. Your point of view is simply selfish and arrogant and would lead society into chaos and mayhem if we all shared your same belief."

Odysseus: "To say what is best for society is simply foolish of you, Socrates."

Socrates: "In sharing your belief, society would have no unity or trust. We would constantly be at war and fighting over each other's differences. We shall look out for each other as an older brother to his younger sibling. What you are proposing is a world where everyone is separated due to their inability to overcome their stubbornness. That shows immaturity and lack of self-discipline."

Alessandro: "I must agree with Socrates. Doing wrong shows a man's weakness and evil. He shall suffer for his actions and not blame another man."

Odysseus: "Who are you to say that a world in unity is better than a world divided? We simply cannot know what is best for our society."

Alessandro: " But we can based on history. Perhaps past civilizations would still be thriving today had they been united by a belief or many beliefs."

Odysseus: "Perhaps the world will never agree on a certain belief. Would that mean no civilization can last past a certain time period for another civilization will eventually kill them all for their differences in beliefs?"

Socrates: "That is what Alessandro and I are pointing out. No civilization has lasted forever without war or disruption from other civilizations. If we all shared your belief, Odysseus, then we would constantly be burdened by violence and would eventually be wiped out by another unified civilization in acts of war."

Odysseus: "Unless our civilizations can agree on their disagreements and live without disturbing each other."

Socrates: "Eventually they will come into contact through growth in population. They will become over populated and eventually fight over land and one civilization will be gone. That would be the cycle if we were unified by your belief system, Odysseus."

Odysseus: "The civilizations could propose a population regulation document."

Socrates: "By regulate you mean kill certain percentages of your population?"

Odysseus: "Yes that is what I propose, Socrates."

Socrates: "Who gave you, or the leaders of those civilizations the right to control and decide who lives and does not get to live? That contradicts the basic laws of human rights. To say that one life is more valuable than another is simply preposterous. Life is not a privilege from leaders of a civilization. It is a God-given right. In a society based on your beliefs, Odysseus, the society will never thrive simply because either the leaders of the civilization, or a rival civilization will kill you off. You will kill your own civilization off through population regulation and a rival society can kill you off through war. Your civilization will be a part of history's cycle. I propose a change from your nonsense beliefs that you share with the leaders of extinct civilizations. Without a change, our civilization will become a part of the cycle and we will not be sitting in this café any longer.

Odysseus: "To simply think you can change the views of the entire world and immediately change the way our society works is naïve of you, Socrates."

Alessandro: "I must agree with Odysseus on this. The power to change the world and its views is insurmountable. No one in this world has that kind of power nor will anyone ever. Must we accept that the world will never come together to be unified and the cycle of history will continue on for ages, Socrates?"

Socrates: "I accept the notion that the world might never be unified, but what I am arguing is that the world cannot be unified under Odysseus or our civilization will not last. Living under an "every man for himself" belief is simply impossible.

Odysseus: "I do not propose that sort of society, but simply state that we will never be unified as a civilization and we must accept that."

Socrates: "By being selfish cowards, Odysseus?"

Odysseus: "No I do not propose that, Socrates."

Socrates: "Well would you not label the man that stole from this café and let another man take the blame for it, a selfish coward?"

Odysseus: "I would, but I do not propose we all live like him."

Socrates: "But in a society where we disregard other's feelings and pain for our very own self pleasures and desires, wouldn't we all be selfish cowards."

Odysseus: "That is where civilizations become advanced civilizations. Through laws and consequences of any wrong doing."

Socrates: "So you propose a justice system could abolish any wrong suffering like the blamed man?"

Odysseus: "Yes."

Socrates: "Perhaps we agree on something. But that does not prove your belief that doing wrong is better than suffering wrong."

Odysseus: "It does not, but it does prove your belief that suffering wrong is better than doing wrong because there would be no wrong suffering with a justice system put in place."

Socrates: "You and your naivety, Odysseus."

Odysseus: "How do you mean?"

Socrates: "To say that a justice system would abolish any wrong suffering is naïve of you to say. Evil men find pleasure in using scapegoats. A justice system would simply influence the rate of crime, which would therefore influence the occurrence of wrong suffering."

Alessandro: "I'm afraid neither pieces of evidence prove either statement wrong or right."

Socrates: "My point of view is simply that there is no wrong suffering if there is no wrong doing. Therefore, doing wrong is worse than suffering wrong because doing wrong begins a cycle within itself. If one man steals and gets away with it by blaming another man, then other men will have the same mindset and crime and other wrongdoing will increase."

Odysseus: "Again you are predicting the future in a false sense, Socrates."

Socrates: "I am simply stating what would happen to our society if we shared your belief, Odysseus."

Odysseus: " Perhaps we will never share a common belief regarding this topic, Socrates. And who is to say who is right or wrong?"

Socrates: "Perhaps. Do you admit defeat Odysseus?"

Odysseus: "No. I admit our differences and leave it at that."

Socrates: "Agreed."