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    Aristotle's Best Practicable State

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    Nadeem Akhtar
    1. Aristotle describes the "polity" as the best attainable form of government, which is a synthesis of democratic and oligarchic elements that gives power primarily to the middle class. 2. Key characteristics include the government being dominated by the well-off middle class, with the middle class outnumbering both the very rich and very poor. This saves the government from the hazards of a democratic rule by the poor or an oligarchic rule by a small, very rich class. 3. The polity has advantages of stability, freedom from civil discord, and promoting a spirit of friendship in the political community through empowering the moderate middle class.

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    Aristotle's Best Practicable State

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    Nadeem Akhtar
    381 views9 pages
    1. Aristotle describes the "polity" as the best attainable form of government, which is a synthesis of democratic and oligarchic elements that gives power primarily to the middle class. 2. Key characteristics include the government being dominated by the well-off middle class, with the middle class outnumbering both the very rich and very poor. This saves the government from the hazards of a democratic rule by the poor or an oligarchic rule by a small, very rich class. 3. The polity has advantages of stability, freedom from civil discord, and promoting a spirit of friendship in the political community through empowering the moderate middle class.

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    1. Aristotle describes the "polity" as the best attainable form of government, which is a synthesis of democratic and oligarchic elements that gives power primarily to the middle class. 2. Key characteristics include the government being dominated by the well-off middle class, with the middle class outnumbering both the very rich and very poor. This saves the government from the hazards of a democratic rule by the poor or an oligarchic rule by a small, very rich class. 3. The polity has advantages of stability, freedom from civil discord, and promoting a spirit of friendship in the political community through empowering the moderate middle class.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    381 views9 pages

    Aristotle's Best Practicable State

    Uploaded by

    Nadeem Akhtar
    1. Aristotle describes the "polity" as the best attainable form of government, which is a synthesis of democratic and oligarchic elements that gives power primarily to the middle class. 2. Key characteristics include the government being dominated by the well-off middle class, with the middle class outnumbering both the very rich and very poor. This saves the government from the hazards of a democratic rule by the poor or an oligarchic rule by a small, very rich class. 3. The polity has advantages of stability, freedom from civil discord, and promoting a spirit of friendship in the political community through empowering the moderate middle class.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 9

    Aristotle’s best practicable

    state
    Dr Iftekhar Ahmed
    Polity- Recipe for stability
    • Polity as form of rule that is best attainable.
    • Not one of six forms of government as given in classification.
    • Particular form of rule where power is in the hands of middle class.
    • It represents a wise synthesis of democratic and Oligarchic elements
    with a weighted share of democracy.
    • Barker says, It is modest and middling.
    Definition- Book IV
    • A mean between and a mixture of the Oligarchic and democratic orders, and
    in which rich and poor alike share legal power
    • Features:
    • 1. Government dominated well-to-do middle class.
    • 2. Middle class outnumber both very rich and very poor
    • 3. Saves Government from the hazards of democratic rule of poor and
    Oligarchic rule of small class of very rich
    • 4. Way of life of middle class as the life of moral virtue- neither violence and
    serious crime of rich nor rogues and petty offences of poor.
    • 5. Best attainable social life and very near to ideal state.
    Distinctive characteristics
    • Unlike democracy it not the rule of the numerous poor
    • Unlike aristocracy it is not based solely on merit, goodness or ability
    • Unlike Oligarchic rule it does not share power with wealthy
    • Characteristics of both democracy and Oligarchy with more of the
    former than latter.
    • Does not secure the rule of perfect virtue but the rule of inferior type
    of virtue
    • Creates universal contentment, thus stable.
    Method of fusion
    • Three fold fusion 1. Full 2. Partial 3. Equal
    • 1. All parts of both are fused
    • 2. Some of two are blended.
    • 3. A compromise is reached.
    • Two of these Methods consist in borrowing institutions in whole or
    part from both forms of government.
    • Third is an adoption of a mean between enactment of the two.
    • Polity will have neither too high property qualification for office nor
    none at all.
    Bases of polity as following special benefits
    • 1. All round stability as rich are less rich and poor are less poor.
    • 2. Free from civil discord and factions and clash of wills.
    • 3. Example of good governance as presence of large middle class
    • 4. Aim of equity and social solidarity springs from equity
    • 5. Truly happy life is a life of goodness lived in Freedom from
    impediments and goodness consists in a mean, than mean is achieved
    by every individual in polity.
    • 6. Man in the condition of moderation and mean are best amenable
    to reason.
    Advantages of polity
    • Promotes spirit of friendship and temper of political community as
    middle class has neither over ambition of poor nor unruliness of
    wealthy.
    • Men of middle class have ability to obey unlike oligarchs and ability to
    command unlike poor.
    • Middle class consists of equals and peers that enhances security as
    unlike poor they do not cover the good of others nor plot against one
    another.
    • It possesses the greatest blessing for a state that its members possess
    moderate and adequate property.
    Advantages
    • Least likehood of faction and dissension among the citizens as large
    states have large middle class.
    • Best legislators like Solon, lycurgus and Charondas belong to middle
    class.
    • Examples- Sparta and Athenian constitution of the year 411 B.C in
    which power rested with some 5000 people possessed heavy armour
    and the system of pay for attendance at meetings had been
    abolished.
    Criticism
    • Not clear cut, difficult in realizing as very ephemeral.
    • Dichotomy between two different and independent theoretical
    concerns- value theory of ideal state and causal theory of actual state.

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