The Order of Government
An Essay on Aristotle’s Views on the City State and Constitution of Government
Angel C. Aquino
Freedoms I
Dr. Roberta Bayer
October 3, 2024
Word Count: 783
Aristotle is hailed as one of the greatest Greek academics. His writings covered a great
expanse of topics that make a case for his versatility. This is not to say that he was entirely
correct on every issue, but that he offers keen insight on a great deal of topics that inform how
we think today.
In his Politics, he discusses the issues of the city state and community, the natural ruling
order, the nature of law and justice, and the ideal political system. Aristotle believes that the
community that has the highest authority to pursue the highest good is the city state, a political
community. A core tenant of the city state is the natural order; for the sake of survival he says
that some are meant to be ruled and there are those meant to govern. This is a symbiotic and
mutually beneficial relationship. Man is a political animal that has an impulse to live in a
community because he has the abilities of speech, communication, and discernment between
what is good and what is bad, as well as what is just and unjust. If he cannot live as a part in
relation to a whole, he is a beast. The end of a city state is to live well by being self-sufficient.
Self sufficiency is not possible when man is separated from others. Additionally, when man is
separated from others, he is separated from law and justice. Law and justice are political matters,
and thus lie in the organization of the community. When separated from the source of virtue, man
on his own becomes a savage animal.
Aristotle presupposes that there are always those meant to rule and those meant to be
ruled. He says this distinction is made at birth. He reasons that some humans are created with
bodies ideal for strong labor, and these people ought to be ruled by those equipped with the
qualities for political life. He specifies that those who share in reason but do not possess it
individually are natural slaves. While slavery may carry a negative connotation in our
contemporary society because of the specific history of our country, the way Aristotle treats it is
as a mere steward’s office that he dismisses as not grand or impressive. It is a tool that maintains
life and order. He draws a comparison between a level of hierarchy present in the human: the
body ought to be ruled by the soul, and the affective part of the soul by understanding.
Furthermore, he says that there is a mutually beneficial relation between masters and slaves in
the same manner as the body and soul, because things can benefit both the body and soul though
one should be subordinate to the other.
Law and justice come hand in hand with an ordered society, and Aristotle lays out two
basic ideas. One theory posits that law is an agreement determined by the victors who conquer in
war, so in essence, force determines virtue. The other holds that justice is higher than that and
based on benevolence. He finds that the metrics of power and force are monstrous criteria.
The last principle that this paper will discuss relates economic status with political
stability. Aristotle is known for having an affinity for moderation, the ‘golden mean’, which is
one of his most lasting contributions to ethics. He sorts citizens in a political system into three
categories. The first are the rich, who hold immense wealth. The excesses of the rich involve
arrogance and major vice, and when the rich are dominant this leads to oligarchy. The second
class are the very poor, who are destitute and lack riches. Their excesses lead to malice,
resentment, and petty vice, and when they are dominant this leads to democracy. The third
category is the ‘middle class’. They are characterized as the least inclined to pursue or avoid
ruling, and they lack the jealousy of the poor and the acquisitive behavior of the rich. They are
classified as being right in the middle of two antagonistic factions. Aristotle hails them as the
bedrock of sound government: they are free from faction and when they are in the majority and
can resist tyranny that rises from the extremes of democracy and oligarchy. He points out that the
best legislators have come from the middle class. This stands to reason because the middle class
is an arbitrator. They will not favor an aristocratic system that empowers the rich and they do not
have the envy of a class that has not experienced power. Aristotle values moderation and the
curbing of excess, both in his ethics and in how ethical standards play out in civil government.
