{"id":83926,"date":"2022-11-11T17:52:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T21:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=83926"},"modified":"2022-11-23T14:43:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T18:43:21","slug":"aristotle-political-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aristotle-political-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Unraveling Aristotle\u2019s Political Theory: The 2 Themes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is Aristotle’s philosophy regarding politics and government? What function, in Aristotle’s view, does the government serve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Aristotle’s political theory, the government exists to maximize the virtue of its citizens. Therefore, it cannot and should not separate politics from questions of morality and personal life circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand Aristotle’s argument, we’ll deconstruct it into two themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Theme #1: Teleology and Justice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aristotle has a \u201cteleological\u201d view of the world\u2014in other words, he believes that everything has an end goal or purpose (a telos<\/em> in ancient Greek). Sandel explains that Aristotle uses this view to explain politics as a whole as well as the relationship between politics and individuals:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) The <\/strong>telos<\/em><\/strong> of politics, according to Aristotle, is to create laws and a society that help people live satisfying and virtuous lives.<\/strong> While liberalism looks to give people the opportunity and freedom to live<\/a> well and be moral if they so choose<\/em>, Aristotle believes that there shouldn\u2019t be a choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2)<\/strong> But the definition of \u201cliving well\u201d varies depending on the person, explains Aristotle\u2014different kinds of people have their own different <\/strong>telos <\/em><\/strong>(purposes in life) and require different things to achieve them. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, imagine someone who\u2019s directionless and can\u2019t function in society on their own. To Aristotle, this person would have the telos<\/em> of obedience\u2014for them to flourish and live the best possible life, they\u2019d need direction, supervision, and help from a superior. Aristotle says that in this case, enslaving this person is moral\u2014it helps both the enslaved person and the enslaver. However, if the enslaved person rejected their status or tried to escape, then Aristotle says they should go free, since their rejection shows that they don\u2019t have the telos<\/em> of being enslaved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theme #2: Leaders With Merit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The second crucial part of Aristotle\u2019s political theory that Sandel discusses has to do with merit and \u201cdesert\u201d (a philosophical term meaning \u201cbeing deserving of something\u201d). These are the main guidelines Aristotle uses for distributing social goods like rights, wealth, and political power. He reasons that society should give goods to the people who can use them best<\/strong>\u2014for example, the best tools to the best carpenter, or the most land to the best farmers. Since Aristotle considers politics as the application of virtue, he concludes that the most<\/em> virtuous people should hold power. This ties in with the telos<\/em> of politics: Since the goal of politics is to make people live virtuously, it follows that a virtuous person is best suited to this task. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Aristotle, this all takes place in the context of a community as a whole\u2014the best farmer wouldn\u2019t get the most land just so they could grow their personal wealth. Instead, said farmer would use their skill to grow food for everyone<\/em> in the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: You might be wondering how Aristotle\u2019s system prevents leaders from acting in their own self-interest at the expense of society. For a solution to this problem, we can look to Aristotle\u2019s teacher Plato and his Republic<\/em><\/a>. Much like Aristotle, Plato argues that the wisest and most moral people should rule. To prevent rulers from acting in self-interest, though, Plato says leaders must go through a specific upbringing: The previous generation of moral leaders must raise the most promising children communally\u2014they\u2019ll have no families, no private property, and will undergo extensive scientific and moral education. This, Plato suggests, creates a class of moral rulers who don\u2019t want<\/em> power or wealth and therefore won\u2019t act in self-interest.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is Aristotle’s philosophy regarding politics and government? What function, in Aristotle’s view, does the government serve? According to Aristotle’s political theory, the government exists to maximize the virtue of its citizens. Therefore, it cannot and should not separate politics from questions of morality and personal life circumstances. To understand Aristotle’s argument, we’ll deconstruct it into two themes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,275],"tags":[804],"class_list":["post-83926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-politics","tag-justice","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nUnraveling Aristotle\u2019s Political Theory: The 2 Themes - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to Aristotle's theory, we shouldn't separate politics from questions of morality and personal life circumstances. 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