Summary
All associations are formed with the aim of achieving
some good. The Greek city-state, or polis, is the
most general association in the Greek world, containing all other
associations, such as families and trade associations. As such,
the city-state must aim at achieving the highest good. Aristotle
concludes that “man is a political animal”: we can only achieve
the good life by living as citizens in a state. In discussing the
economic relations that hold within a city-state, Aristotle defends
the institution of private property, condemns excessive capitalism,
and notoriously defends the institution of slavery. Before presenting
his own views, Aristotle discusses various theoretical and actual
models current at his time. In particular, he launches lengthy attacks
on Plato’s Republic and Laws, which
most commentators find unsatisfying and off the mark, as well as
criticizing other contemporary philosophers and the constitutions
of Sparta, Crete, and Carthage.
Aristotle identifies citizenship with the holding of public
office and administration of justice and claims that the identity
of a city rests in its constitution. In the case of a revolution,
where the citizenship and constitution change, a city’s identity
changes, and so it cannot be held responsible for its actions before
the revolution.
Roughly speaking, there are six kinds of constitution,
three just and three unjust. A constitution is just when it benefits
everyone in the city and unjust when it benefits only those in power.
When a single person rules, a constitution is a monarchy if the
ruler is good and a tyranny if the ruler is bad. When a small elite
rules, a constitution is an aristocracy if the rulers are good and
an oligarchy if the rulers are bad. When the masses rule, a constitution
is a polity if they rule well and a democracy if they rule badly.
Aristotle acknowledges that giving full sovereignty to either the
governing body or the laws might make room for abuses of power and
suggests that a polity is probably least susceptible to corruption,
especially when the laws are given higher authority than the governing
body. He proposes a principle of distributive justice, saying that
benefits should be conferred upon different citizens differently,
depending on the contribution they make to the well-being of the
state.
In Books IV to VI, Aristotle turns from his theoretical
speculations to a practical examination of political institutions
as they exist in the Greek world. He observes that the needs of
city-states vary greatly depending on their wealth, population,
class distribution, and so on. He examines the different varieties
of states and constitutions and makes a number of general recommendations.
The greatest tension in any state is the mutual resentment between
the rich and the poor. Consequently, a strong middle class keeps
a state in balance and guards against corruption and oppression.
The three branches of civic government are the deliberative, which
makes the major political decisions of the state; the executive,
which runs the day-to-day business of the state; and the judicial,
which oversees the legal affairs of the state. Though it is not
necessary to give everyone equal access to public office, it is
never wise to exclude entirely any group from power. Constitutions
are usually changed by a large, dissatisfied faction that rises
up against the people in power. To preserve a constitution, Aristotle
recommends moderation, education, and inclusiveness. The interests
of the rich minority and poor majority can be balanced by allowing
both factions a roughly equal amount of power. In such an arrangement,
each individual rich person would have more political power than
each individual poor person, but the poor and the rich as groups
would be balanced against one another.
Books VII and VIII return to the question of what the
ideal state would be like. The good life consists primarily in rational
contemplation, so even though political action is admirable and
necessary, it is only a means to the end of securing the ultimate
happiness of rational contemplation. An ideal city-state should
be arranged to maximize the happiness of its citizens. Such a city
would be large enough for self-sufficiency but small enough to ensure
fellow feeling. It should be located by the water to allow for easy
sea commerce. Young citizens serve in the military, middle-aged
citizens govern, and older citizens take care of religious affairs
while noncitizen laborers take care of farming and crafts. Education
is important to ensuring the well-being of the city, and Aristotle
prefers a public program of education to private tutoring. He recommends
that care be taken to breed the right habits in children from the
time they are in the womb and that when they mature they learn to
hone their reason. His recommended curriculum consists of reading
and writing, physical education, music, and drawing. This education
will help citizens make the most of both work and play, as well
as the leisure time in which to pursue the good life.
Analysis
Aristotle’s discussion of politics is firmly grounded
in the world of the Greek city-state, or polis.
He assumes that any state will consist of the same basic elements
of a Greek city-state: male citizens who administer the state, and
then women, slaves, foreigners, and noncitizen laborers who perform
the necessary menial tasks to keep the city running. Citizenship
in the Greek world was a much more involved responsibility than
it is in modern representative democracies. All citizens in a Greek
city-state take part in government and hold various public offices,
which is why Aristotle takes public office as a defining feature
of citizenship. Because citizenship involves an active role in running
the state, a citizen identifies strongly with the city-state to
which he belongs, to the point that the Greeks consider exile to
be a fate worse than death. The tight bond between citizen and city-state
also explains why Aristotle considers active citizenship as a necessary
feature of the good life. He insists that we can only fully realize
our rationality and humanity as citizens of a city-state, and so
he concludes that fully realized humans are, by necessity, political
animals.
