Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Individual
Group Discount
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews October 4, 2023 September 27, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan - Group Discount
Qty: 00
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
The general topic of Book V is constitutional change: what causes constitutions to change; the ways in which different constitutions are susceptible to change; and how constitutions can be preserved. Aristotle argues that the root cause of constitutional change is that different groups have different conceptions of justice and equality. While democrats believe that all freeborn people are absolutely equal, oligarchs believe that inequality in wealth implies inequality on an absolute scale. The wealthy and the poor are thus liable to form separate factions, each trying to alter the constitution to its advantage. Some argue that justice should be in proportion to merit or birth, but because these individuals of great merit or high birth are so few in number, they never form powerful factions. Absolute democracy and absolute oligarchy are not very durable, as some compromise between the two is usually necessary. However, Aristotle suggests, democracy is less susceptible than oligarchy to factionalism.
Aristotle identifies three aspects of the cause of factional conflict: (1) the state of mind that leads someone to form a faction; (2) what can be gained or lost in forming a faction; and (3) the causes of political disputes that may lead to factions. Aristotle then identifies eleven potential causes of constitutional change: (1) arrogant behavior or hubris on the part of a ruler upsets his subjects; (2) a faction realizes how rebelling might profit it; (3) people act to avoid disgrace or to win greater honor for themselves; (4) a ruling oligarchy or monarchy is too powerful; (5) people fear punishment at the hands of those in power; (6) those who are not in power despise the poor government of those in power; (7) one class grows disproportionately larger than another; (8) corrupt election procedures lead to safeguards that alter the constitution; (9) people who are not loyal to the constitution rise in the ranks; (10) much minor change to the constitution amounts to one substantial change; and (11) large numbers of immigrants splinter into factions. Aristotle identifies several other causes of constitutional conflict: petty quarrels between important officials; changes in the power of certain public offices; equality between antagonistic elements (the poor will not revolt against the rich unless they feel as powerful as the rich); force; and fraud.
Aristotle identifies causes of change that are particular to democracies, oligarchies, and aristocracies. A democracy is most liable to be overthrown when it devolves into demagoguery and when the demagogue leads a crusade against the rich. Oligarchies can be changed either from without or from within. Change from without may occur when the poor—or others who have been mistreated and excluded from government—fight back. Change from within may occur with infighting, the impoverishment of certain members, or the formation of an inner, even more elite, circle. Alternatively, change may occur when the city as a whole has become much wealthier, allowing a great many more people to meet the property requirement that makes one eligible for office. Aristocracies endanger themselves when the ruling circle becomes increasingly narrow. Additionally, aristocracy and constitutional government both contend with the challenge of balancing the democratic and oligarchic aspects of government.
Aristotle notes also that all forms of constitution are subject to change from without if a powerful neighbor with a different form of constitution uses its might to impose its constitution on conquered states.
Both the rich and the poor conceive of justice and equality selfishly. Each party interprets these principles in the manner that will confer the most benefits upon its constituency. Aristotle maintains the doctrine that all intentional actions have some good as their goal; no one ever knowingly does what is wrong, and thus evil results always from an ignorant and skewed prioritization of goods. The ways in which the rich and the poor conceive of justice and equality are thus prime examples of the ignorance that the Greeks took to be the source of all evil. Consequently, Aristotle considers both oligarchy and democracy to be perverted forms of government.
Aristotle is quite detailed in his listing of the different ways in which a constitution can be changed. The first seven relate directly to the inherent nature of the state and constitution. The ease with which the ruling party can fall out of favor illustrates the ever-present tension between the ruling and the ruled. The last four that Aristotle lists are more accidental causes of change, for which the unpopularity of neither constitution nor ruling faction is responsible.
Please wait while we process your payment