Aristotle on Politics: Forms of Government, Virtue, and Happiness

Policy

Politics is subject to ethics, but politics is more important, because it is desirable that everyone be happy; it is the common end. Those who work to make everyone happy have greater merit.

Every human being is social by nature. Only animals that live purely by instinct and God (who lacks no needs and has everything) do not require society.

From the moment he is born, man develops within a natural society: the family. Many families form a village, and villages, as a result of further development and needs, can be combined to form a lasting association or society, which Aristotle called the polis.

That polis is the community that makes possible the development of all the virtues of the individual. There will be rulers who enact the laws necessary for good living, and their sole purpose should be that citizens become virtuous and happy.

Forms of Government (Best to Worst)

Aristotle analyzes all forms of government and their degradation or corruption (from best to worst):

1. Monarchy: Government by one wise and virtuous ruler. It seeks the happiness of all, not the ruler's personal benefit.
2. Aristocracy: Government by the wisest and most virtuous. They seek the good of all.
3. Democracy: Majority rule, where the many are considered virtuous and competent to govern.

How These Forms Degrade

These forms degrade in the following order:

1. Tyranny: Government of one who imposes his will through law and does not seek the common good, but his own.
2. Oligarchy: Government by a few who were once good rulers but have used laws for their own economic benefit, provoking the majority to rebel and leading to further corruption.
3. Demagogy: Rule by demagogues who enact laws intended to please everyone—an impossible aim. Such laws constantly change, are often unenforceable, and tend to confuse liberty with licentiousness and equality with mere egalitarianism.

But Aristotle is not content to discuss ideal government only; he also proposes the best attainable government, opting for a mixture of monarchy and democracy. This mixed government will best secure the happiness of society.