Book Three chps10-11 debate between the few and the many

1. Book Three chps10-11debate between the few and the many • Wisdom of the many (demos) • The partisans of justice speak of a part of justice only • Democrats say: if the people willed it, it must be right—because democracy means “rule by the people,” = majority rule • Yet, the people can will something that is not good for the community 3.10.2 • “they may divide among themselves the property of the rich”

2. Yet, if the few rule, this dishonours the rest. 3.10.4 • Should law rule instead of men? But the law will have the character of its regime—it will be democratic or oligarchic or monarchic. • Should the best rule? This would exclude even more people (on the assumption that true virtue is rare)

3. But why exclude the people? • Because they lack virtue? • Mechanics and labourers have no time to cultivate and exercise highest virtue • But they don’t lack it (entirely). Altogether they may be better than any single individual That is, “if the people are not utterly degraded” • Also, they contribute wealth and power to the state, and these are necessary • The many should be included, but in a limited way. Limited in what way? • Limited by law.

4. Thus, Aristotle combines virtue and necessity in this account • “All these considerations appear to show that none of the principles on which men claim to rule, and hold all other men in subjection to them, are strictly right.” 3.13.9

5. Advantage of Rule of law: • “Therefore he who bids the law rule may be deemed to bid God and Reason alone rule, but he who bids man rule adds an element of the beast; for desire is a wild beast, and passion perverts the minds of rulers, even when they are the best of men. The law is reason unaffected by desire.” 3.16.5-7 • Foresight/reason again returns as a critical element in a good regime. It puts the breaks on superior force, esp the force of the majority.

6. Limit of Law: • It speaks to the general case, not the particular. • E.g. Law says “any man who wantonly kills another innocent man is guilty of murder” • Problem: is OJ Simpson guilty of murder? • One still needs judges, etc. to apply the law to particular cases 3.16.11 • Need to blend rule of law and rule of men.

7. Aristotle Books 4, 7, and 8

8. Hence it is obvious that government too is the subject of a single science, which has to consider what government is best and of what sort it must be, to be most in accordance with our aspirations, if there were no external impediment, and also what kind of government is adapted to particular states. 4.1.1

9. Any change of government which has to be introduced should be one which men, starting from their existing constitutions, will be both willing and able to adopt, since there is quite as much trouble in the reformation of an old constitution as in the establishment of a new one, just as to unlearn is as hard as to learn. And therefore, in addition to the qualifications of the statesman already mentioned, he should be able to find remedies for the defects of existing constitutions, as has been said before. 4.1.7

10. Constitution=“regime” • A constitution is the organization of offices in a state, and determines what is to be the governing body, and what is the end of each community. But laws are not to be confounded with the principles of the constitution;

11. Kingship Aristocracy Constitutional (polity) Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy “democracy is the most tolerable of the three” 4.2.2 Three types of regimes and their perversions have been listed

12. Kingship: aristocracy: polity: democracy: oligarchy: tyranny Middling regimes Extreme good and bad

13. What explains the variety of regime types? • The reason why there are many forms of government is that every state contains many elements. • Different families (rich, poor, middling, armed, unarmed, etc) • Differences of rank and merit, etc • Difference character (virtue, not virtuous)

14. If a regime is an arrangement of offices, and how they are distributed among the various types of people in the state, there will be many ways of arranging these offices—hence different types of regimes.

15. Clarifying oligarchy and democracy • Oligarchy is rule of rich when they are few • Democracy is rule of the free (usually poor) when they are the majority 4.4.6

16. Parts of the state—listed 4.4.9 ff. • No slaves mentioned, why? • Some parts are necessary for survival, other parts “add grace” to life • But the highest, most essential part, is the class engaged in defence, and justice. • these are more essential to the state than the parts which minister to the necessaries of life.

17. types of democracy • A key distinction, it seems • Democracy under law • Democracy where people rule without recourse to law • Demogogues flatter the people, and rule eventually becomes despotic • Further, those who have any complaint to bring against the magistrates say, 'Let the people be judges'; the people are too happy to accept the invitation; and so the authority of every office is undermined. Such a democracy is fairly open to the objection that it is not a constitution at all; for where the laws have no authority, there is no constitution. The law ought to be supreme over all, and the magistracies should judge of particulars, and only this should be considered a constitution. • Analogy: asking Canadians en masse to judge a suspected criminal?

18. Oligarchy • Property qualification--excludes others from participating in offices and deliberation.

19. Advantage to having democracy among farmers and those with moderate fortunes • When the class of husbandmen and of those who possess moderate fortunes have the supreme power, the government is administered according to law. For the citizens being compelled to live by their labor have no leisure; and so they set up the authority of the law, and attend assemblies only when necessary. 4.6.2

20. If people are paid to serve in office, this frees them from other cares • It empowers democrats • One needs “leisure” – time apart from necessary things in life—to engage in politics.

21. Polity • A mixture of oligarchy/aristocracy and democracy (but which tend more toward democracy) • Democracy = freedom • Oligarchy = wealth • Aristocracy = virtue. “The distribution of office according to merit is a special characteristic of aristocracy” • How far can one go in mixing? Caution—good laws if not obeyed are not good laws 4.8.6. • There may be only so far one can improve democracy and make it “good” (non-despotic).

22. Wealth is often (not always) a sign of nobility • If one builds a place in regime for wealthy, one “hopes” nobility will come in its train. This may be the best one can hope for?

23. Finding the “Mean”i.e. middle way • (3) There is a third mode, in which something is borrowed from the oligarchical and something from the democratical principle. For example, the appointment of magistrates by lot (by a roll of the dice, literally) is thought to be democratical, and the election of them oligarchical; democratical again when there is no property qualification, oligarchical when there is. In the aristocratical or constitutional state, one element will be taken from each- from oligarchy the principle of electing to offices, from democracy the disregard of qualification. Such are the various modes of combination. 4.9.4

24. Middle Class is Good • it will clearly be best to possess the gifts of fortune in moderation; for in that condition of life men are most ready to follow rational principle. But he who greatly excels in beauty, strength, birth, or wealth, or on the other hand who is very poor, or very weak, or very much disgraced, finds it difficult to follow rational principle. 4.11.5 • But this is rare 4.11.16

25. The legislator should always include the middle class in his government; if he makes his laws oligarchical, 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 middle class 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. 4.12.4-5

26. Book 6 • The basis of a democratic state is liberty. . .this they affirm to be the great end of every democracy. • One principle of liberty is for all to rule and be ruled in turn, • whence it follows that the majority must be supreme, and that whatever the majority approve must be the end and the just. • Democrats: “Every citizen must have equality.” Consequence? The poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme. • Another [principle of liberty] is that a man should live as he likes. This, they say, is the privilege of a freeman • whence has arisen the claim of men to be ruled by none, if possible, or, if this is impossible, to rule and be ruled in turns; and so it contributes to the freedom based upon equality.

27. Liberty gone too far? • Every man should be responsible to others, nor should any one be allowed to do just as he pleases; for where absolute freedom is allowed, there is nothing to restrain the evil which is inherent in every man. But the principle of responsibility secures that which is the greatest good in states; the right persons rule and are prevented from doing wrong, and the people have their due. 6.4.7 • Randomness (being led around by one’s appetites) is opposite of true freedom. [to live life at random is slavish] • The truly free men are least at liberty to act at random, because all things are already ordained for them They are fundamentally ruled in this sense: in terms of following a pre-established [rational] order.

28. Book 8 • No one will doubt that the legislator should direct his attention above all to the education of youth; for the neglect of education does harm to the constitution. • The citizen should be molded to suit the form of government under which he lives. For each government has a peculiar character which originally formed and which continues to preserve it. • The character of democracy creates democracy, and the character of oligarchy creates oligarchy; and always the better the character, the better the government. 8.1.1

29. The customary branches of education are in number four; they are- • (1) reading and writing, • (2) gymnastic exercises, • (3) music, to which is sometimes added • (4) drawing. • 1,2,4 are useful—music is not. (8.3.1-3) • Recall, though, politics does not aim at the useful, but rather at the what’s best. See 3.9.12

30. Liberal Educationeducation of/for the free (liberal) person • But leisure of itself gives pleasure and happiness • The busy man is not at leisure, hence not experiencing happiness • What is he busy at? Work, i.e. obtaining the means to life and leisure • If all education aims at job training, it educates only with respect to the means of life, not the purpose of life, which is happiness and leisure • Citizens need an education in how best to enjoy leisure.

31. The role of music in education • pleasure, …varies according to the habit of individuals; • the pleasure of the best man is the best, and springs from the noblest sources. • there are branches of learning and education which we must study merely with a view to leisure spent in intellectual activity, and these are to be valued for their own sake; 8.3.7

32. “To be always seeking after the useful does not become free and exalted souls.”

33. Education to Virtue • Do not educate to one virtue (courage) and neglect the other virtues (e.g. Sparta and courage) • Educate for nobility, for the noble are courageous, and have many other good qualities in addition. 8.4.5

34. Music. . .may it not have also some influence over the character and the soul? 8.5.16 • It excites the emotions of the ethical part of the soul (we can be made to feel pity, pride, etc. by music) • Besides, when men hear imitations, even apart from the rhythms and tunes themselves, their feelings move in sympathy. 8.5.17

35. Virtue means rejoicing and loving and hating aright (in the right way at the right time with respect to the right things) • Rhythm and melody supply imitations of anger, gentleness, courage, temperance and of virtues and vices generally • This is true of no other sense (except sight to a limited extent)

36. Paid (professional) performers vulgarize music • The vulgarity of the spectator tends to lower the character of the music and therefore of the performers; they look to him- he makes them what they are, and fashions even their bodies by the movements which he expects them to exhibit.

37. That was then, this is nowGreek aulos player --- Rosie and Boy George