Aristotle The

Politics
POLI2013: Democracy and Its Critics
Dr Adam Lindsay
School of Politics and International Relations
 Introduction

B109, Law and Social Sciences Building

1) Aristotle’s Philosophical approach
Office Hours:
Monday, 11:00-12:00 2) Aristotle’s typology of constitutions
Friday, 13:00-14:00

adam.lindsay3@nottingham.ac.uk 3) His assessment of the best constitution

2
Aristotle’s
Philosophy
 Aristotle, 384-322 BCE

 Born in Macedonia
 Student of Plato
 Not a citizen of Athens, a metic.
 Tutor to Alexander the Great
 Establishes the Peripatetic
School in the Lyceum, in Athens

4
“Man is by nature a political animal.”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1253a

6
“Now everyone holds that what is just is some sort of
equality… But equality in what and inequality in what,
should not be overlooked. […]
For among flute players equally proficient in the craft, those
who are of better birth do not get more or better flutes, since
they will not play the flute any better if they do. It is the
superior performers who should also get the superior
instruments … Suppose someone is superior in flute
playing, but is very inferior in birth or beauty…he should
still get the outstanding flutes”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1282b-1283b

7
 Aristotle, 384-322 BCE

 Aristotle endorses ‘virtue

ethics’.
 Justice requires arranging
society to allow for human
flourishing [eudaimonia].

8
 Types of Constitution
Polis [Πόλις]: Greek City State

The One The Few The Many

Just Form Monarchy Aristocracy Polity

Perverted Form Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy

Aristotle, The Politics, Book IV

9
Who rules?
Different constitutions arise based on the organising principle
adopted:
 Freedom: Political office is held open to all ‘free’ citizen.
 Wealth: Political office granted to those with wealth, as obtaining
wealth is an indicator of ability.
 Merit: Those most virtuous should be granted privileged powers
due to their capacity to make the correct moral choices

10
“The basis of a democratic state is liberty; which, according to the common opinion of
men, can only be enjoyed in such a state; this they affirm to be the great end of every
democracy. One principle of liberty is for all to rule and be ruled in turn, and indeed
democratic justice is the application of numerical not proportionate equality; whence it
follows that the majority must be supreme, and that whatever the majority approve must
be the end and the just. Every citizen, it is said, must have equality, and therefore in a
democracy the poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and
the will of the majority is supreme. This, then, is one note of liberty which all democrats
affirm to be the principle of their state. Another is that a man should live as he likes.
This, they say, is the privilege of a freeman, since, on the other hand, not to live as a man
likes is the mark of a slave. This is the second characteristic of democracy, whence has
arisen the claim of men to be ruled by none, if possible, or, if this is impossible, to rule
and be ruled in turns; and so it contributes to the freedom based upon equality.”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1317b

11
“The basis of a democratic state is liberty; which, according to the common opinion of
men, can only be enjoyed in such a state; this they affirm to be the great end of every
democracy. One principle of liberty is for all to rule and be ruled in turn, and indeed
democratic justice is the application of numerical not proportionate equality; whence it
follows that the majority must be supreme, and that whatever the majority approve must
be the end and the just. Every citizen, it is said, must have equality, and therefore in a
democracy the poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and
the will of the majority is supreme. This, then, is one note of liberty which all democrats
affirm to be the principle of their state. Another is that a man should live as he likes.
This, they say, is the privilege of a freeman, since, on the other hand, not to live as a man
likes is the mark of a slave. This is the second characteristic of democracy, whence has
arisen the claim of men to be ruled by none, if possible, or, if this is impossible, to rule
and be ruled in turns; and so it contributes to the freedom based upon equality.”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1317b

12
“The basis of a democratic state is liberty; which, according to the common opinion of
men, can only be enjoyed in such a state; this they affirm to be the great end of every
democracy. One principle of liberty is for all to rule and be ruled in turn, and indeed
democratic justice is the application of numerical not proportionate equality; whence it
follows that the majority must be supreme, and that whatever the majority approve must
be the end and the just. Every citizen, it is said, must have equality, and therefore in a
democracy the poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and
the will of the majority is supreme. This, then, is one note of liberty which all democrats
affirm to be the principle of their state. Another is that a man should live as he likes.
This, they say, is the privilege of a freeman, since, on the other hand, not to live as a man
likes is the mark of a slave. This is the second characteristic of democracy, whence has
arisen the claim of men to be ruled by none, if possible, or, if this is impossible, to rule
and be ruled in turns; and so it contributes to the freedom based upon equality.”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1317b

13
“There is a danger in allowing them [the poor] to share the great
offices of state, for their folly will lead them into error and their
dishonesty into crime. But there is a danger also in not letting them
share, for a state in which many poor men are excluded from office
will necessarily be full of enemies. The only way of escape is to
assign to them some deliberative and judicial functions.”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1281b

14
“The principle that the multitude ought to be supreme rather than the few best is
one that is maintained, and, though not free from difficulty, yet seems to contain
an element of truth. 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. For each
individual among the many has a share of virtue and prudence, and when they
meet together, they become in a manner one man, who has many feet, and hands,
and senses; that is a figure of their mind and disposition. Hence the many are
better judges than a single man of music and poetry; for some understand one
part, and some another, and among them they understand the whole.”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1281b

15
“I will proceed to consider constitutional government; of which the
nature will be clearer now that oligarchy and democracy have been
defined. For polity or constitutional government may be described
generally as a fusion of oligarchy and democracy; but the term is
usually applied to those forms of government which incline towards
democracy, and the term aristocracy to those which incline towards
oligarchy, because birth and education are commonly the
accompaniments of wealth.”
Aristotle, The Politics, 1291a

16
 Types of Constitution
Polis [Πόλις]: Greek City State

The One The Few The Many

Just Form Monarchy Aristocracy Polity

Perverted Form Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy

Aristotle, The Politics, Book IV

17
 Summary

1) Aristotle provides a typology of

C113, Law and Social Sciences Building
constitutions.
Office Hours: 2) Pure democracy and oligarchy are
Monday, 10:00-11:00
Tuesday, 10:00-11:00
flawed because they are guided by the
adam.lindsay3@nottingham.ac.uk
private interests of the poor and the
wealth respectively.
3) Aristotle prefers a mixed constitution
that secures both the wisdom of the
crowd and the skill of the most virtuous.

18