Aristotles Politics

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Aristotles Politics

• The Just Arrangement of the City

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The Authoritative Element

• Who should wield authority in government?
• It is either the multitude, the wealthy, the
  respectable, the one who is best of all, or the
  tyrant but all of these appear to involve
  difficulties. How could they not? (Book 3,
  Chapter 10)
• What are the difficulties with each?

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The Multitude

• Why not democracy? Isnt that the rule of the
  people?
• Rule only of the majority If the poor by the
  fact of being the majority distribute among
  themselves the things of the wealthy, is this not
  unjust?
• Democracy is often only the rule of the majority,
  often of the poor, over and against the rest
  within a society
• If democracy is justified merely because it is
  rule of the majority, it is no different than
  rule of a tyrant.
• The majority rules because it has the force of
  numbers behind it in the same way that the tyrant
  rules because he has the force of arms behind
  him.

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The Wealthy

• But is it just, therefore, for the minority and
  the wealthy to rule? If they act in the same way
  and rob and plunder the possessions of the
  multitude, is this just? If so, the other is as
  well.
• Thus, the problem of rule by the wealthy is the
  same as that of rule by the multitude

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The Respectable

• In this case, all the others are necessarily
  deprived of prerogatives, since they are not
  honored by political offices. For we say that
  offices are honors, and when the same persons
  always rule the others are necessarily deprived
  of these honors or prerogatives.
• Is this unjust?
• Whats the problem with the rule of the
  respectable?

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The Most Excellent of All

• But is it better for the one who is most
  excellent of all to rule? But this is still more
  oligarchic, as more are deprived of
  prerogatives.
• Because of peoples political jealousy, the most
  just regime may not be the best regime.
  Concessions have to be made to political
  jealousy, even though irrational.
• So, as well see, Aristotle concentrates much of
  this discussion on what would be the most just
  regime however, he concedes that the most just
  regime may not be feasible politically.
• This is especially the case because it is
  perhaps no longer easy for any regime to arise
  other than a democracy. Book 3, Chapter 15

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Political Virtue

• Before considering Aristotles account of the
  most just arrangements in the city, we must
  consider again his discussion of the proper aims
  of the city
• The city exists not only for the sake of living
  but rather primarily for the sake of living well,
  for otherwise there could be a city of slaves or
  of animalsas things are, there is not, since
  they do not share in happiness or in living in
  accordance with intentional choice.
• Thus, the city exists so as to allow its citizens
  to choose virtue for themselves and the
  participants in the city

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Classical Realism

• One might attribute this to an idealistic view
  of government
• Aristotle, however, implies that his argument is
  realistic Whoever takes thought for good
  management, however, gives careful attention to
  political virtue and vice. It is thus evident
  that virtue must be a care for every city, or at
  least every one to which the term applies truly
  and not merely in a manner of speaking.
• How could this argument be seen as more
  realistic?

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The Insufficiency of the Oligarchs and the
Democrats

• Given his definition of the goal of politics,
  Aristotle claims both the oligarchs (i.e. those
  who claim to merit rule unequally because of
  their wealth) and the democrats (i.e. those who
  claim to merit rule equally because of their
  freedom) speak only of a kind of justice while
  they consider themselves to speaking of justice
  simply.
• For the ones the oligarchs, if they are
  unequal in a certain thing, such as goods,
  suppose they are unequal generally, while the
  others suppose that if they are equal in a
  certain thing, such as freedom, they are equal
  generally. (Book 3, Chapter 9)
• In what way do the oligarchs think they are
  unequal generally and the democrats think they
  are equal generally?

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Virtue is only legitimate claim

• The political partnership must be regarded,
  therefore, as being for the sake of noble
  actions, not for the sake of living together.
  Hence those who contribute most to a partnership
  of this sort have a greater part in the city than
  those who are equal or greater in freedom and
  family but unequal in political virtue, or those
  who outdo them in wealth but are outdone in
  virtue. (Book 3, Chapter 9)
• Given the ends of the city and the claims of the
  oligarchs and the democrats themselves, the only
  legitimate claim is virtue.

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The Just Claim of the Most Superior Man

• In the case of the best regime, however, there
  is considerable question as to what ought to be
  done if there happens to be someone who is
  outstanding not on the basis of preeminence in
  the other goods such as strength, wealth, or
  abundance of friends, but on the basis of virtue.
  For surely no one would assert that such a
  person should be expelled and banished. But
  neither would they assert that there should be
  rule over such a person this is almost as if
  they would claim to merit ruling over Zeus by
  splitting the offices. What remainsand it seems
  the natural courseis for everyone to obey such a
  person gladly, so that persons of this sort will
  be permanent kings in their cities. (Book 3,
  Chapter 13)
• Aristotle now claims that, if the only legitimate
  claim to rule is virtue, then the most virtuous
  should be obeyed gladly by everyone in the
  city.
• This is because of what is said later For in
  the case of persons similar by nature, justice
  and merit must necessarily be the same according
  to nature and so if it is harmful for their
  bodies if unequal persons have equal sustenance
  and clothing, it is so also for their souls if
  they are equal in what pertains to honors, and
  similarly therefore if equal persons have what is
  unequal. (Book 3, Chapter 16)
• In other words, its not just to treat unequal
  persons equally and so, if theres a superior man
  in the city, justice demands that he get an
  unequal share of the honor of ruling.

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The Wise Rule of a Superior Man

• As we just saw, Aristotle thinks that justice
  points to the rule of the most virtuous, but he
  also thinks that the most virtuous will be the
  best manager of the city.
• The beginning point of the inquiry is this
  whether it is more advantageous to be ruled by
  the best man or by the best laws. Those who
  consider it advantageous to be under a kingship
  hold that laws only speak of the universal and do
  not command with a view to circumstances. So to
  rule in accordance with written rules is
  foolish in any artIt is evident, therefore, for
  the same reason that the best regime is not one
  based on written rules and laws. (Book 3,
  Chapter 15). What does this mean?

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The Problems with the Rule of the Most Superior

• Theoretically, Aristotle thinks it makes sense
  both from the standpoint of justice and from the
  standpoint of political management for the most
  superior man to rule the city and be obeyed
  happily by the rest of society
• There are, however, two essential problems with
  this type of rule

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1) The Problem of Human Nature

• The first problem is pointed to by Aristotle in
  his discussion about what to do about what
  pertains to the offspring.
• Aristotle writes Perhaps he will not turn it
  over to his children in spite of having authority
  to do so? But it is not easy to believe this
  either it would be difficult, and require
  greater virtue than accords with human nature.
  (Book 3, Chapter 15)
• This point can be generalized
• The problem with the rule of the most superior
  man is that of human nature
• Because he is human and thus potentially partial
  to himself and his friends, he may not, in fact,
  rule with the true interests of the city in mind
  
• This is made even more the case because it will
  be difficult for other human beings to know who
  is, in fact, the most superior man. They might
  choose someone who claims to be most superior but
  isnt, someone who, in the end, only wants
  political power

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2) The Problem of Democratic Resistance

• There is a question also concerning his
  powerwhether one who is going to rule as king
  should have about himself some force by which he
  will be able to compel those who do not want to
  obey (Book 3, Chapter 15)
• The difficulty with the rule of the most superior
  man is also that the people, the democrats
  attached to their own virtue, will not be willing
  to obey such a person gladly.
• Thus, the most superior man will have to use a
  kind of force that will end up perverting his
  regime and making it, in actuality, less than the
  most just regime.
• So, because it is perhaps no longer easy for any
  regime to arise other than a democracy,
  concessions have to be made to the democrats not
  because of the actual justice of their arguments
  but because they will resist any rule other than
  democracy
• Why do the democrats insist on participation?

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Democratic Pride

• Because politics adjudicates on fundamental
  questions of right and wrong or justice and
  injustice, men do not want to believe that they
  are not capable of deciding these matters for
  themselves.
• The democrats insist on political participation
  because the questions of politics touch on
  fundamental questions about what constitutes a
  good life. Although Aristotle might be right
  that certain superior men are better able to
  guide everyone toward the good life, the aim of
  politics, most people do not want to accept this
  argument that points toward their own
  insufficiency. They believe they are capable of
  guiding themselves toward a good life. Are they
  right?

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The Regime Determines the People

• Aristotle claims that one can only know the
  character of any given people if one looks at
  their political arrangement
• But where the same persons inhabit the same
  location, must it be asserted that the city is
  the same as long as the stock of inhabitants
  remains the same? For if the city is a type of
  partnership of citizens in a regime, if the
  regime becomes and remains different in king, it
  might be held that the city as well is
  necessarily not the same. (Book 3, Chapter 3)

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Different Peoples Need Different Political
Arrangements

• For by nature there is a certain people apt
  for mastery, another apt for kingship, and
  another that is political. (Book 3, Chapter
  17). What does this mean?
• There is no clear universally just regime. It
  will depend on the character of the people who
  inhabit any given city