Chapter 6

Yet those who believe that slavery is unjust are correct in a sense, because, in addition to natural slaves, there are also
slaves according to law. Legal slavery, usually the result of military conquest, is unjust because not all the conquered
people are slaves by nature. If someone who is not a natural slave is enslaved by force, the situation is disadvantageous
both to the master and the slave.

Chapter 7

Mastery and political rule are not the same thing, because political rule is over those who are free and equal.

Chapter 8

Let us now examine expertise in business as compared to household management. The two are not the same, because
businesses supply and households consume. There are several ways of life based on self-generated work (as opposed to
trade and commerce): the life of the nomad, the farmer, the pirate, the fisher and the hunter, or a combination of several.
Everything in nature is made for a purpose; thus other creatures are made for the sake of human beings. Household
management is a type of expertise for the acquisition of life's necessities.

Chapter 9

Business expertise is also a type of acquisitive expertise. Expertise in commerce is distinct from expertise in business
because the former involves exchange. Commerce arose from creation of money as a result of necessary exchange.
Business expertise is the same type as household expertise. The difference is that in business there is no limit, because
the amount of wealth continually increases.

Chapter 10

Expertise in household management is necessary praiseworthy, but expertise in exchange is not according to nature
because it involves usury and taking from others. Usury is the type of business most contrary to nature.

Chapter 11

The useful types of business expertise are experience regarding livestock, farming methods, and the raising of animals.
There are three parts of expertise in exchange: marketing and transport, money-lending, and wage labor.

Philosophers are often poor, but only because they are not concerned with business, not because they could not become
wealthy. Political rulers should be familiar with business matters because cities need revenues.

Chapter 12

Now let us examine marital rule. The wife is ruled in a political fashion, and the children in a kingly fashion.

Chapter 13

Household management is concerned with human beings and their virtuousness. Perhaps there are separate virtues for
women and for children; otherwise how could one justify their being ruled? The female, unlike the slave, does have the
deliberate element of reason, but she lacks authority. The child also has the deliberative element but it is incomplete.
Therefore the virtues of men and women are different, and the virtues of slaves are different as well. Education of women
and children with a view to the regime is necessary because women make up half of the free persons in the city and
children are future citizens.

Book VI

<<
1
Prev Section

Page 1 of 2

Next Page

>

Summary

In addressing the question of the construction of democracies and oligarchies, Aristotle reminds us that even someone
wholly committed to the principles of democracy would not want to construct a city based entirely on the principles of
democracy. This would in effect be an extreme form of democracy, or demagoguery, which would undermine the very
principles it was created to serve. Rather, a government must temper these principles and discover how best to apply
them, given the particular make-up of the people over whom it rules.

Aristotle states that the underlying principle of all democracy is liberty, but the concept of liberty can be interpreted in two
different ways. Under one interpretation, liberty means an even interchange between ruling and being ruled by all freeborn
citizens. This implies the sovereignty of the majority and the equality of all before the law. Under the other interpretation,
liberty means the freedom to do whatever one wants. In this system, ideally, one would not be ruled at all; if government
became necessary, however, an even interchange between ruling and being ruled would arise. These conceptions of
liberty (and by extension democracy) share the fundamental principle that all people are equal, regardless of wealth or
merit.

Raising the question of how equality should be secured, Aristotle recommends a compromise between democracy and
oligarchy, suggesting that sovereignty should be granted to whichever side has the greatest absolute amount of wealth.
This is oligarchic in giving importance to wealth, but democratic in allowing the numbers of the poor to count.

Aristotle asserts that a population of farmers makes for the best kind of democracy: they must work hard and are well
spread apart so they can't spend too much time in government. So, as long as they can select officers and are not robbed
of their wealth, they are happier working their farms than they would be in public office. The wealthy hold all significant
offices, but they are entirely accountable to the farmers.

The worst kind of population for a democracy is made up of mechanics, shopkeepers, and laborers. Because they are all
crowded around the city center, they take a very active part in politics and tend to encourage mob rule and demagoguery.

Aristotle issues a reminder that the best democratic policy is not the most extreme but rather the one that will ensure the
survival of the democracy. As a result, the populace should not be able to profit from confiscating the wealth of the rich,
and payments to the poor should be in the form of block grants that allow them to buy land rather than simple handouts.

Aristotle states that oligarchy, like democracy, is most likely to thrive when it is practiced in moderation. While higher
offices should be reserved for the wealthy, the poor should still be able to hold some of the lower offices. Furthermore,
wealthy officers should be obliged to perform significant public service in order to hold office, thus earning the admiration
and approval of the poor. Oligarchies fare best in cities with a strong cavalry or heavy infantry, whereas cities with many
light infantrymen (poorer than heavy infantrymen) or naval forces tend toward democracy.

Aristotle closes by listing the different kinds of executive office. There are six offices dealing with day-to-day affairs that
are indispensable to all cities, and there are four more important offices that require some expertise: military command;
control of finance; preparation of business for the deliberative assembly; and directing of public worship.

Analysis

The concept of ruling and being ruled is applicable not only on a political level but also on a personal, ethical level. A
theme in the works of Aristotle and in those of eighteenth-century philosopher Immanuel Kant—and, indeed, in much of
contemporary ethical theory—is that liberty, or freedom, is not a matter of being able to do what one pleases but instead a

2
matter of obeying one's own will rather than some outside force. Aristotle states that a slave is not free by virtue of the fact
that he does what others tell him what to do with no freedom of choice in the matter. However, a barbarian who rapes and
pillages as he pleases is similarly not free, by virtue of the fact that he does not rule himself but rather is controlled by
passions that seize him. According to Aristotle, man is essentially rational, meaning that his faculty of reason is what is
most truly his own. Thus, if man allows himself to be ruled only by his faculty of reason, then he is totally free. He
simultaneously rules (his reason determines what he should do) and is ruled (he obeys the dictates of his reason).

Since Aristotle believes that the distinction between citizen and city is almost nonexistent, his application of the above
concept of freedom to political matters is not surprising. It is worth recalling that Aristotle claims that man is essentially a
political animal and that his rationality can find its fullest expression only when he participates in the life of the polis. Since
freedom expresses itself as a matter of both ruling and being ruled and man needs to be rational, true freedom exists only
within the confines of the polis. Citizens rule in that they have a say in how the city is governed and are ruled in that they
remain loyal to the city and obey its laws.

It might seem odd that Aristotle asks whether some consideration should be given to the rich just after he asserts that a
democracy gives equal weight to all. The matter that concerns him is how to interpret "equal weight." Aristotle sees most
cities fundamentally divided between a rich minority and a poor majority and believes that these two groups usually form
opposing factions. If everyone were given equal voting power and equal eligibility for office, the poor majority, by virtue of
their numbers, would have absolute control, rendering the rich minority very vulnerable. Absolute democracy in this sense
may make each individual equally powerful, but it also renders one faction far more powerful than the other. Rather than
give equal weight to each individual, Aristotle gives equal weight to each faction, so that the rich minority has
approximately the same amount of power as the poor majority. This method creates a balance of power, which ensures
that neither group can exploit the other.

Aristotle's Politics Summary and Analysis of Book VII

Chapter 1

To investigate the best regime it is necessary to first investigate the best way of life. Virtue is more important for a good life
than external things. The soul is more honorable than the body and possessions, because these things are for the sake of
the soul, not vice versa. Happiness is the result of living according to virtue. Now, "the best city is happy and acts nobly."
Therefore the best way of life both for individuals and for cities is a life of virtue.

Chapter 2

Now we need to investigate which is the most choiceworthy way of life and which regime is the best. The best regime is
the one in which a person can act in the best manner and live most happily. There is a dispute between those who assert
that the political or active life is the most choiceworthy and those who assert that the philosophic way of life is the best.

Chapter 3

Those who dislike the political way of life because it involves ruling make the mistake of equating every type of rule with
mastery, while political rule is noble because it is rule over free persons. Inactivity is also not praiseworthy. For people who
are similar, the noblest arrangement is to rule and be ruled in turn. Yet this is not to say that the active life is necessarily
the best, because the philosophical life is in reality not inactive, and its actions are for the sake of goods which are ends in
themselves.

Chapter 4

In thinking about the best city, it is important to think about population and territory. A larger population is not always better,
because quality of citizens is more important than quantity, and it is often more difficult for a populous city to be well-
managed. Too few persons is also bad because the city will not be self-sufficient. Therefore the optimal number is just
enough so that the city is self-sufficient.

Chapter 5

3
As far as territory is concerned, one also needs to look for territory that is self-sufficient, and that it allows people to live at
leisure but also with moderation. The territory should be readily surveyable so that it is easily defended.

Chapter 6

The territory should be near a port so as to have access to trade, but not right on the sea so as to avoid the influx of
foreigners.

Chapter 7

Considering what quality of persons the political multitude should be, it is clear that they should be both spirited and
endowed with thought, as the Greeks are.

Chapter 8

"The city is a partnership of similar persons, for the sake of a life that is the best possible." There will need to be several
sorts of cities and regimes because of the different sorts of people that make them up. This requirements for a city are as
follows: sustenance, arts, arms, funds, priestcraft, and judgment concerning the advantageous and the just. Accordingly,
the multitude must consist of farmers, artisans, warriors, a well-off element, priests and judges.

Chapter 9

In the best regime, the citizens should not be merchants, because this way of life is ignoble. Further, they should not be
farmers because leisure is necessary for virtue and political activity. The fighting element and the judges should be
citizens, such that the young are warriors and then afterwards become judges.

Chapter 10

The city should be divided among the separate types of persons. There should be common messes, but also a sphere for
private property. Farmers should slaves.

Chapter 11

The city should be in a place where the terrain and climate are favorable to people's health, and should be adequately
fortified to safeguard against attack.

Chapter 12

Common messes need to be arranged for the different classes in the city.

Chapter 13

Since the best city is the happiest city, we need to review what happiness is before deciding what the regime of the best
city should be. Happiness, as defined in the discourse on ethics, is "the actualization and complete practice of virtue." First
and foremost, the city is excellent when its citizens are excellent. Men become excellent through nature, habit and reason.

Chapter 14

Should the rulers and ruled be the same throughout life or should they alternate? Unless there is a person or group who
so preeminent in virtue that they are like gods, the citizens should rule and be ruled in turn. A regime cannot last if it is
contrary to justice. The older should rule the younger, because this is a natural distinction and a person rules more finely if
he has been ruled first.

The soul has two parts‹one has reason, and the other does not have reason but can obey it. The reasonable part can also
be divided into the active part and the studying part. Action directed toward necessary thing should always be for the sake

4
of noble things. Citizens must be educated to act with a view toward noble things above all. They also must be sure that
citizens do not view war as an end in itself, so that they will know how to be capable of being at leisure.

Chapter 15

Should citizens be educated first by means of reason or by means of habits? The two should be consonant with one
another, and since reason and intellect are the end of human nature habits should be formed with a view to these. The
superintendence of the body is for the sake of the soul, and the control of the appetites is for the sake of the intellect.

Chapter 16

The legislator needs to makes laws regarding marriage so as to ensure that procreation takes place at the best time both
physically and with respect to capability of child-rearing.

Chapter 17

Raising children should be regulated with a view to helping them grow strong physically and habituating them in virtue.
They should not spend much time with slaves and foul speech should be banished from the city so that it doesn't
negatively influence the children. It is also important to be careful about what young people watch. The young should be
protected from all bad influences. Education should be split into two age groups: age seven until puberty, and puberty until
age twenty-one.

Analysis:

In his discussion of the best city, it is natural that Aristotle would begin with an examination of the best life, since of course
the aim of the city is living well. The happiest man would have all three kinds of goods‹external goods, goods of the body,
and goods of the soul‹but goods of the soul are the most important. Aristotle argues that while external goods by nature
have a limit and can be excessive, there is no possibility of excess with regard to goods of the soul. There is a natural
hierarchy of beings to which a hierarchy of goods correspond, and goods of the soul are the highest. They are intrinsically
choiceworthy, not chosen for the sake of something else.

Aristotle's discussion of the best life leads him to the debate between the practical life versus the contemplative life, a
debate which recurs throughout the writings of both ancient and medieval philosophers, such as Plato, Cicero, and
Aquinas. In Aristotle's view, the highest practical life is the political life, while the highest contemplative life is the
philosophic life. While it is unclear, especially in the politics, whether the political or the philosophic life is best, texts on
this subject in the Ethics, particularly in Book X, indicate that the philosophic life is the best because it engages the
highest part of the soul in contemplation of the highest things, and is the most complete, continuous and self-sufficient
activity.

Having established what the best life is, Aristotle then proceeds to work out the details for the best city. The best city
brings together all of Aristotle's previous recommendations for a just regime. Aristotle often repeats that for a city to be
well-managed, the citizens have to "similar in stock and free." Otherwise, there is discord with regard to varying ideas of
justice and competing claims to rule based on numbers, wealth or virtue. At the same time, Aristotle recognizes that a city
needs farmers, laborers and artisans if it is to be able to provide for the necessities of life. It is clear to Aristotle that these
laboring classes are not fit to take part in ruling, because they do not have the necessary leisure time required for a proper
education in virtue. However, all citizens ought to have a share in ruling, and if the citizens are similar they ought to rule
and be ruled in turn. This problem of the demos‹the people, or the multitude‹is a recurrent theme throughout the Politics.
The demos seems to be an insurmountable obstacle to the formation of a perfect regime. Perhaps that is why, in his best
regime, Aristotle simply eliminates the demos. The laboring classes are all slaves, and the only citizens are an elite
aristocracy of gentlemen, in which the young are soldiers and the old rule. This seems to be the only way for Aristotle to
actualize his ideal political set-up, where citizens who are similar in stock and free rule and are ruled in turn.

Aristotle's Politics Summary and Analysis of Book VIII

Chapter 1

5
The legislator's primary concern should be the education of the young. Education must be public and in common, because
there is a single end for the city as a whole. Citizens do not belong to themselves, but rather all belong to the city.

Chapter 2

The things that are useful and necessary should be taught, but not things are particular to the laborer or the slave,
because such things make the mind abject.

Chapter 3

The four customary areas of education are letters, gymnastics, music and drawing. While music is not necessary, it is
important because it is with a view to spending leisure time well. Some of the useful areas of learning should also be
sought not only with a view to utility but with a view to enable the student to reach higher levels of learning. Seeking utility
above all is not fitting for those who are magnanimous and free. Since education through habits must precede education
through reason and education of the body must precede education of the mind, gymnastics must be the first thing taught
to children.

Chapter 4

Gymnastics needs to be pursued moderately, so that it not take precedence over the other subjects, which train the mind.

Chapter 5

Music is for the sake of education, play and pastime. Play is for the sake of rest, which should be pleasant, and music is
one of the most pleasant things. But some human beings have made play their ultimate end, because the end does in fact
involve pleasure. Music itself is good for education because the harmonious blend of sounds leads the soul to balance the
passions harmoniously in accordance with reason.

Chapter 6

Children should actively participate in the making of music themselves through singing or playing instruments, because it
provides them with a noble pastime and keeps them out of trouble. "Education is a rattle for the young."

Chapter 7

The three defining principles for the purposes of education are the middle, the possible and the appropriate.

Analysis:

Aristotle's strong belief in the importance of education is evident in his earlier statement that education is the best means
of preserving a regime, and is now made even clearer in his unqualified assertion that education should be the legislator's
greatest concern. Like all of the central ideas in the Politics, the value that Aristotle places on education is rooted in his
emphasis on the goal of the city as living well. Since the raison d'etre of the city is to help its citizens live the good life,
teaching citizens to be virtuous is of primary importance. Furthermore, having well-educated and virtuous citizens will also
help the city as a whole to be better.

A proper education in virtue requires habituation and proper intellectual formation. For Aristotle, education is not solely an
intellectual matter, but is first and foremost the education of the soul in virtue, only part of which is intellectual. Before
children are ready for intellectual training, however, they must learn virtues of self-discipline through gymnastics, and must
acquire a taste for harmony in music so that they will be inclined to seek the harmony of their souls through a proper
balance in which the appetites are subordinated to the rule of reason. As always, Aristotle connects virtuousness and
freedom, contrasting virtuous conduct with slavishness. Aristotle also connects slavishness with wage-earning work. Such
tasks are vulgar because they do not allow leisure time for the cultivation of nobler qualities, and they turn one's attention
away from the soul toward the body and material things.