1. POLITICS By Aristotle

2. POLIS POLIS city koinonia or political association It is the most soverign form of association since it incorporates all other forms of association 3. ASSOCIATION The basic unit of association is a household Next is a village Ultimate association is the cityMan by nature is a political animal. Only as part of the city can people fully realize their nature, separate from the city, they are worse than animals - Aristotle 4. Three kinds of relationship that make up a household Master and slave is a mutual relationship as means by which the master secures his livelihood. The master possesses rational and commanding powers while the slave lacking these is fit only to carry out menial duties Husband and wife It resembles the statesman to his people in that the husband and wife share the same free nature. The male, by this nature is more fit than the female to command and it justifies the fact that is is the husband not the wife who rules the household. Parent and child- It resembles the king to his subjects as the father rules by virtue to his childrens love for him and their respect of his age 5. Art of acquisition It is the fourth element of a household It pertains to the satisfaction of basic needsTwo kinds of acquisition Natural acquisition necessities which is an indispensible part of management of a household Unnatural acquisition accumulating money of its own sake 6. Citizen a citizen is someone who shares in the administration of justice and the holding of public office. a citizen is anyone who is entitled to share in deliberative or judicial office. citizenship requires that the citizen be free from the necessary tasks of life Aristotle points out that though citizenship is often reserved for those who are born to citizen parents, this hereditary status becomes irrelevant in times of revolution or constitutional change, during which the body of citizens alters. Manual laborers they are necessary to a city but states that not everyone who is necessary to the city can be a citizen but still in oligarchies in which citizenship is determined by wealth, a rich manual laborer may qualify for citizenship. all citizens were required to contribute in some way. Assemblies of citizens made decisions in bodies whose modern equivalents are law courts and city councils 7. Being a good citizen and being a good man a good citizen to the extent to which one upholds and honors the constitution Because there are different kinds of constitutions there are also different kinds of good citizens. a good man has a Perfect virtue that is the only standard for being a good manso it is possible to be a good citizen without being a good man. Aristotle suggests that a good ruler who possesses practical wisdom can be both a good citizen and a good man. 8. Attacks on plato Plato's Republics main thrust is to be that citizens should share in common as much as possible, including wives, children, and property. The goal of this community is to achieve as much unity in the city as possible the city involves an essential plurality: different people must make different contributions, fulfill different roles, and fit into distinct social classes. Otherwise, a city will not be able to perform the many functions necessary for it to remain self- sufficient. 9. Attacks on plato Men share the women of the city and that children be taken from their mothers at birth and raised collectively in state nurseries By this proposal, no child would receive proper parental care, and the lack of family ties would render citizens less capable of showing friendship and love 10. Attacks on plato Plato remarks on the community of property, stating that the practice of generosity, an important virtue, requires individual ownership of property The problems people often associate with ownership of private property arise not from privatization but from human wickedness. The solution is to share education, not property 11. Attacks on plato Platos guardian is the that it is dangerous to sole class that leave the governance governs a city of the city entirely in the hands of one class. 12. Attacks on Platos Laws Plato's proposed city requires a vast territory but makes no provision for safe relations with neighbors. Generosity, like temperance or moderation, should be a guiding principle regarding wealth. Plato says that land should be divided into even lots and distributed evenly between citizens but makes no allowance for fluctuations in population 13. Problems with the spartan government the system of serfdom leaves the ever-present danger of revolution. the undue freedom given to women presents many hazards, the worst of which is a dowry system that hurts the economy and the military. the Ephors, or overseers, are elected almost at random from the general populace. both Ephors and councilors are susceptible to bribes. the state's two kings are not elected on the basis of merit. 14. Dissatisfaction with crete and carthage CreteCarthage The Cretan system is elitist, susceptible to feuds, and has only remained safe thanks to its isolation from other states While Carthage is superior to both Sparta and Crete, it rewards the rich too much, which encourages greediness. 15. Governments: Aristotelian Typology Number of RulersIdealPervertedOneMonarchyTyrannyFewAristocracyOligarchyManyPolityDemocracy 16. Numbers of rulers In rare cases in which one individual clearly outstrips the rest, it may be just to grant that individual absolute kingship. a single person cannot possibly deal with all the city's affairs. Further, a single individual is more susceptible than a larger body to corruption. Each individual person may not be particularly commendable, the populace as a whole is less susceptible to error and should share collectively in the judicial and deliberative offices of government. a better judge as to whether the people are being governed well. 17. Ruler to Laws be allowed to vs laws cannot If the governing body is alloweddetermine what is just, then democracies, oligarchies, and tyrannies would then be just. And though aristocracies and kingships may rule justly, these systems deprive the rest of the citizens of the honor of holding civic office more adaptable than laws to particular circumstancesdetermine automatically what is just, since they may be formulated unjustly. laws can only deal with generalities, and there are many particular cases on which the law is not clear.well-constituted laws should ultimately be sovereign, and governing bodies should deal only with particular cases not covered by general laws. A sovereign law should confer benefits according to each person's contribution to the city deliberative and judicial assemblies that are made up of all citizens should rule in cases where the law is ambiguous. The governing body include all citizens and that they govern should have a common interest and that the laws be well constituted and directed toward the general good The law should be the absolute sovereign, and the decisions of the government should only be made in those cases where the law is unclear. The government should not have the power to make decisions that go counter to the law If the law is well constituted, this will ensure that, even if a corrupt government is in power, it cannot do too much damage 18. All constitutions are based on a notion of justice Justice is the end goal of politics distributive justice is based on a cold, practical assessment of an individual's value to society. Merit is determined by one's contribution to the functioning and well-being of the city since people make unequal contributions to society (and hence are unequal), it is only just to grant them unequal benefits Since all citizens take part in deliberative and judicial office, all citizens contribute equally but there are outstanding individuals who clearly make a far more significant contribution than their peers and It would be unjust to place such an individual on an equal level as his peers, since he is making an unequal contribution Though Aristotle is reluctant to endorse kingship for a number of reasons, he ultimately concludes that in some cases it may be the best solution.