Aristotle's Politics

Government by the people?

•"For the many, of whom each individual is but an ordinary person, when they meet together may very likely be better than the few good, if regarded not individually but collectively, just as a feast to which many contribute is better than a dinner provided out of a single purse." (Book III, part 9) •Those who live in the state (just as those who live in a house) know if it is made well (Book III, part 11) •Also, if only the "best" persons rule, "everybody else, being excluded from power, will be dishonored." (Book III, part 10) •There is a danger in letting many people rule, "But there is a danger also in not letting them share [in ruling], for a state in which many poor men are excluded from office will necessarily be full of enemies." (Book III, part 11)

True statesmanship - a viable alternative to contemplation? (Book VII, parts 2, 3)

•"these two lives - the life of the philosopher and the life of the statesman - appear to have been preferred by those who have been most keen in the pursuit of virtue, both in our own and in other ages." •Statesmanship is often confused with gaining or exercising power over others - "unlawful it certainly is to rule without regard to justice, for there may be might where there is no right." •Seeking power for its own sake leads to exploitation, "and he who violates the law can never recover by any success, however great, what he has already lost in departing from virtue." •The statesman should inquire how different peoples "may participate in a good life, and in the happiness attainable by them. His enactments will not always be the same . . ."

What does it mean to be a virtuous citizen?

•Aristotle says it is NOT (or not always) the same thing as being a virtuous person. •Virtuous citizenship depends on the regime one lives in - all have the goal of preserving the regime. •But those who rule (leaders or statesmen) should be wise, and wisdom requires virtue. •But in regimes where rule "is exercised over freemen and equals by birth . . . The good citizen . . . should know how to govern like a freeman, and how to obey like a freeman - these are the virtues of a citizen." (book III, part 4)

Lasting democracy

•BUT, taken to its logical extreme, democracy tends to undermine itself - all distinctions tend to disappear, order turns to chaos, and demagogues gain (tyrannical) control. (Book VI, part 4) •"The legislator . . . must not think the truly democratical or oligarchical measure to be that which will give the greatest amount of democracy or oligarchy, but that which will make them last longest." (Book VI, part 5) •Hence the necessity of a mixed regime: allow all to participate, but "the great offices should be filled up by election and from persons having a qualification; the greater requiring a greater qualification." (Book VI, part 4) •Also, take measures that the people "be not too poor" and help them achieve "lasting prosperity." Such measures are "equally the interest of all classes." (Book VI, part 5)

Equality and Preeminence (Book III, part 13)

•But what about people who are far superior to others in virtue (or some other trait)? •"For men of pre-eminent virtue there is no law - they are themselves a law." •Two options: •Ostracize them - cutting the ears of corn example •"The painter will not allow the figure to have a foot which, however beautiful, is not in proportion . . ." OR, "The only alternative is that all should joyfully obey such a ruler, according to what seems to be the order of nature, and that men like him should be kings in their state for life."

The best state (and life) (Book VII, part 1)

•Central question: what is the best life? Without this, we can't know what the best form of government is •Three kinds of goods: •External goods •Goods of the body •Goods of the soul •"External goods have a limit," i.e., diminishing marginal returns, but goods of the soul don't •Good fortune and happiness are not the same thing, for "no one is just or temperate by or through chance." •"the best life, both for individuals and for states, is the life of virtue."

Democracy, cont.

•Democracy has two main features: •"for all to rule and be ruled in turn." (Book VI, part 2) •"that a man should live as he likes." Even better would be to be ruled by none. (Book VI, part 2)

Human nature and politics (book I, part 1)

•Fundamental question: what is (or should be) the point of politics? •Household -> village(s) -> state - "Hence it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal." •Humans are more political/social than bees, etc., because they have speech, which "set[s] forth the expedient and inexpedient, and therefore likewise the just and the unjust." •"The state is by nature clearly prior to the family and to the individual, since the whole is of necessity prior to the part." •"But he who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god: he is no part of the state."

What is the purpose of government?

•Government should never be merely for the benefit of those who rule (whether many or few), but only for "the common interest." (Book III, part 4) •Government should not be understood as a mere alliance that provides security and facilitates economic exchange, but "those who care for good government take into consideration virtue and vice in states . . . virtue must be the care of the state which is truly so called[.]" (Book III, part 9)

The "best constitution for most states" (Book IV, part 11)

•Perhaps having one supremely excellent person rule would be best, but such people are hard to come by . . . •Without assuming "a standard of virtue which is above ordinary persons" or exceptionally favored circumstances, what is the best regime? •Aristotle's answer - a mix of polity and aristocracy with a large middle class. Sometimes called a "mixed regime." (See also book VI, part 4) •Those who are very rich or very poor "find it difficult to follow rational principle," privilege and deprivation make it hard to be virtuous

Change/revolution in government

•The "universal and chief cause" of revolutionary feeling is "the desire of equality," but rich and poor disagree about which kind of equality should count. (Book V, part 2) •The poor: equality based on numbers •The rich: equality based on "ratios" (wealth, status, ability to contribute, etc.) •The virtuous "have the best right of all to rebel . . . but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so." (Book V, part 1) •Causes (or triggers) of revolutions include love of gain and honor for self or others, "insolence, fear, excessive predominance, contempt, disproportionate increase in some part of the state . . ." (Book 5, part 2)

The best constitution, cont. (Book IV, part 11)

•The middle class is the mean between having too much and not having enough: "it will clearly be best to possess the gifts of fortune in moderation . . . The middle class is least likely to shrink from rule, or to be over-ambitious for it." They are also the least likely to form factions. •Rich and poor generally regard "political supremacy as the prize of victory." •If there no or only a small middle class, you have "a city, not of freemen, but of masters and slaves, the one despising, the other envying; and nothing can be more fatal to friendship an good fellowship than this . . . But a city ought to be composed, as far as possible, of equals and similar; and these generally are the middle classes."

What (who) is a citizen? (book 3)

•The problem: every state has resident non-citizens. Some of these have certain rights but not others, as do the very old or the young. Where do we draw the lines of "the city?" •Not just someone who can own property or make contracts or sue other people; all of these can be established by treaty. •Children and old people also don't seem to be citizens in the full sense. •How did the first citizens become citizens? What about after a revolution? •The citizen in the "strictest sense" is the person who "shares in the administration of justice, and in offices."