Plato and Aristotle 141taking four basic forms, each imperfect, and also tending to
move in a cyclical manner. They are: Timocracy—rule by
national heroes; Oligarchy—rule by a selfish few; Democ
racy—rule by the whim of a fickle majority; and Tyranny—rule
by a one man dictatorship. Plato indicated that systems of
government, when apart from the ideal, tended to follow a
cyclical pattern which caused each form to deteriorate, develop
into the next, going from good to bad to worst— then eventually
to a short-lived good form.
Plato’s political philosophy, like his moral philosophy, is a
perception of the ideal. His premises are based on his concept of
man as a cooperative, rational, and perfectible being. The
priorities for the state are unity, harmony, peace and— according
to his definition—justice. The state, an economic necessity, is
natural and will always be with us; if this is so, then we must aim
at the ideal and try to achieve it.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
Aristotle’s political philosophy, like his moral philosophy
and unlike Plato’s moral and political philosophy, is realistic,
practical, and an attempt to reconcile extremes. His Politics,
unlike Plato’s Republic, is not a description of the ideal state but
rather an analysis of existing states, their constitutions, their
modus operandi, and his observations of the strengths and
weaknesses in each.
The family— a man, a woman and their offspring— is the most
natural of all organizations; the preservation of the race requires
that man’s natural instincts cause him to become a part of a
family. Certainly, men did not deliberate about the relative
values of the family. Rather the family unit was joined naturally,
and its value determined in retrospect. The evolution of the
family into larger units of organization progresses until the state
is actualized. The state, according to Aristotle, is the highest
form of community. In his moral philosophy Aristotle main
tained that happiness was the highest good because it alone was
self-sufficient. Likewise, the state is the only community which
is self-sufficient, therefore, it is the best form of organization. “If
all communities aim at some good, the state or political commu