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PRIMARY SOURCE from Politics
by Aristotle
| The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384—322 B.C.) wrote influential
books on many different topics, including biology, rhetoric, poetry, and
politics. In Politics Aristotle distinguishes among many kinds of
government, including several possibilities for democracy, which is sometimes
defined as government by the many, and oligarchy, which is often defined
as government by a few. In this selection, Aristotle outlines the importance
of a large middle class. |
The best political community is formed
by citizens of the middle class, and. . .those states are likely to be
well administered, in which the middle class is large, and stronger if
possible than both the other classes, or at any rate than either singly;
for the addition of the middle class turns the scale, and prevents either
of the extremes from being dominant. Great then js the good fortune of
a state in which the citizens have a moderate and sufficient property;
for where some possess much, and the others nothing, there may arise an
extreme democracy, or a pure oligarchy; or a tyranny may grow Out of either
extreme—either out of the most rampant democracy, or out of an oligarchy;
but it is not so likely to arise out of the middle constitutions and those
akin to them. . . .The mean condition of states is clearly best, for no
other is free from faction; and where the middle ciass is large, there
are least likely to be factions and dissensions. For a similar reason large
states are less liable to faction than small ones, because in them the
middle class is large; whereas in small states it is easy to divide all
the citizens into two classes who are either rich or poor, and to leave
nothing in the middle. And democracies are safer and more permanent than
oligarchies, because they have a middle class which is more numerous and
has a greater share in the government; for when there is not middle lass,
and the poor greatly exceed in number, troubles arise, and the state soon
comes to an end.
The legislator should always include
the middle class in his government; if he makes his laws oli garchical,
to the middle class let him look; if he makes them democratical, he should
equally by his laws try to attach this class to the state. There only can
the government ever be stable where the mid dle clals exceeds one or both
of the others, and in that case there will be no fear that the rich will
unite with the poor against the rulers. For neither of them will ever be
willing to serve the other, and if they look for some form of government
more suitable to both, they will find none better than this, for the rich
and the poor will never consent to rule in turn, because they mistrust
one another. The arbiter is always the one trusted, and he who is in the
middle is an arbiter. The more perfect the admixture of the political elements,
the more last ing will be the constitution.
from “Politics” in
The Basic Works of Aristotle, Richard McKeon, ed. (New York: Random House,
1941), 1221—1223.
Discussion Questions
1. Determining Main Ideas According
to Aristotle, what are the advantages of having a large middle class?
2. Forming and Supporting Opinions
Do you agree that a constitution be “more lasting” when a large
middle class is the “arbiter or the one who has the power to decide? Why
or why not?