Aristotle’s views on politics and governance

#aristotle presented his political #philosophy in his works “Politics” and “Nicomachean Ethics.” He believed that #humans are political by nature. By “political,” he meant that humans prefer living in #communities to enhance the enjoyment of life. In his work “Politics,” Aristotle described different forms of government and compared their advantages and disadvantages. His classification of government forms is based on whether the rule is exercised for the common good or for rulers’ benefit. Aristotle identified the following six forms of government: monarchy (rule by one person), aristocracy (rule by the few), polity (rule by the citizens), tyranny (corrupt rule by one), oligarchy (corrupt rule by the few), and false democracy (corrupt rule by the many). He categorised the last three on the list as undesirable because they did not further the #commongood . According to Aristotle, monarchy, aristocracy and polity are preferable because they favour the common good, although he fails to explain how to differentiate in advance between good and corrupt governments. For instance, how will you ascertain in advance that a new king is going to become a tyrant instead of a good monarch? Aristotle described monarchy as a government form where a virtuous ruler is guided by wisdom and benevolence. He uses the same #logic to define aristocracy as a form of government where virtuous elites govern for the common good. In his third government form, the polity, the citizens rule themselves with the goal of enhancing their common welfare. I regard Aristotle’s definitions as equivocal and naïve. There is no way to determine in advance whether the governing elites will govern for the common good or for their own interest. It is equally impossible to predict whether self-ruling citizens will make sound or #foolish decisions. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/aristotles-views-on-politics-and-governance/