Private Property and the Rule of the Middle Class in...

Private Property and the Rule of the Middle Class in Aristotle’s Politics In his discussions of constitutions and cities in Politics, Aristotle makes it very clear that his top priority is to provide people with the opportunity to pursue and achieve the good life. An integral part of this is the stability of the constitution. Although Aristotle explicitly states that a kingship is the best system of rule for any given generation, its lack of stability from one generation to the next disqualifies it from being the best in reality. In his attempts to find a constitution with stability, Aristotle comes to the decision that the middle class would be the ruler of such a constitution. This, he says, will minimize the†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Those constitutions which consider the common interest are right constitutions†¦those constitutions which consider only the personal interest of the rulers are all wrong constitutions, or perversions of the right forms† (III.6). The kingship, however, does not appear at the top of Arist otle’s list of â€Å"good† constitutions—constitutions that best allow its citizens to achieve the good life—but rather on the bottom: constitutional government (polity), aristocracy, and then monarchy, in decreasing order of virtue. Aristotle explains this discrepancy by revealing that providing the citizens with a good life necessarily implies the need for stability. â€Å"It remains to treat of the methods for preserving constitutions in general† (V.8). A kingship may be the most virtuous constitutional type for any given generation, but it is extremely vulnerable to corruption from one generation to the next. â€Å"If the kingship is accepted as the best form of government for cities, what is to be the position of the king’s children? Are we to say that his descendants should also be kings? If they turn out as some of them have done, the result will be mischievous† (III.15). The virtue of a kingship is based on the virtue o f the king—on one man. One man, who rules a single generation justly, in pursuit of the common interest, may pass his power on to a man who rules the next general with malice and greed, in pursuit of hisShow MoreRelatedThe Impossible Quest For The Ideal Society1645 Words   |  7 Pagespresented in Plato’s The Republic and Aristotle’s Politics. While they both present a wide range of views on many issues, this paper will only focus on two issues that go hand-in-hand: slavery’s role in society, and the divisions of property and power amongst the classes. 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