POL200Y5 Lecture 4: Aristotle’s Politics Book 4
Aristotle’s Politics Books IV, VII and VIII
The ideal Polity;
-Polity is a mixture of oligarchy and democracy. A mix of 2 un natural polies. Wealth is
important in any polity, their wealth contributes the most to the polis. The oligarchs claim that
they are the best at everything and should rule, they always rule in their own interest.
Democrats think they are equal in all things, they exclude wealth. They fall short of justice, and
are unstable.
-If we combine certain components, we will get a natural and stable polis. Polity.
-The polity is a practical polis. Because chances are you live in a democracy or an oligarchy, you
do’t have to reate thigs fro srath.
-There is 2 ways of looking at this combination:
1. Constitutional mixing:
-Contains both parts
-There is relative merit to both constitutions
-Some elements are democratic, some are oligarchic.
-If your in a democracy, you want to bring more oligarchic parts
-The end product is stability
-Trying to find a mean between 2 extremes
The doctrine of the mean:
-it is not the ideal, it is not an aristocracy, but this is something that most people can participate
in, most are oligarchies or democracies. The reformer just needs to go in the opposite direction
-The mean / middle life, it is a political way of life that most can share, the polity rests on the
ethical doctrine of the mean.
-The idea that virtue is the mean between 2 extremes, virtue is a matter of proportion and
values, balance between practical knowledge
-Moral virtue can be defined as a disposition to chose the mean between ones self. Excess and
deficiency of emotion- moral virtue is in the middle.
-Eg. In the action of giving money, we can have an excess, we would call this extravagance, we
could also have a deficiency, call this stinginess. The mean between these 2 extremes would be
generosity.
-Always relative to yourself
-Not easily attainable
The polity: a mean between 2 extremes:
-In all city states, there is the rich, the poor, and what is between them; the middle class.
-based on a social and economic mixture, rather than a constitutional mix.
-Where the middle class dominates
-The middle element is defined by the amount of property
-Those in the middle are not too rich or too poor; the mean between 2 extremes. Each alone is
either an excess or deficiency. Both fall short of virtue.
-Polity is more sociological.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Polity is a mixture of oligarchy and democracy. Wealth is important in any polity, their wealth contributes the most to the polis. The oligarchs claim that they are the best at everything and should rule, they always rule in their own interest. Democrats think they are equal in all things, they exclude wealth. They fall short of justice, and are unstable. If we combine certain components, we will get a natural and stable polis. Because chances are you live in a democracy or an oligarchy, you do(cid:374)"t have to (cid:272)reate thi(cid:374)gs fro(cid:373) s(cid:272)rat(cid:272)h. There is 2 ways of looking at this combination: constitutional mixing: If your in a democracy, you want to bring more oligarchic parts. Trying to find a mean between 2 extremes. It is not the ideal, it is not an aristocracy, but this is something that most people can participate in, most are oligarchies or democracies. The reformer just needs to go in the opposite direction.
