Aristotle’s views on politics and governance

John Vespasian explains that 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 common good. 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. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/aristotles-views-on-politics-and-governance/