Government building is a careful craft. If the state shifts too far toward benefitting one group or another and disadvantaging the remainder of the populace, unrest and revolution begin to brew. But where is the middle point? How does one balance the interests of the oligarchs and the democrats, which are so incompatible? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To tackle this question, we need to examine the two extremes of government, democracy and tyranny. We have already discussed the perspectives of both groups as it pertains to how a society should be, so what would a society look like with those aspirations enacted? A democracy is ruled by the majority, the common crowd, who strive for absolute equality. This would result in an increased burden on the wealthy. The majority looks out for its own interests and will inevitably augment the wealthy\u2019s, not their own, responsibility to maintain the state, by increasing taxes on the rich, for example. This arrangement necessarily creates unrest among the upper classes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, in a tyranny or absolute oligarchy, the ruling elite monopolizes all power and disadvantages the common man. It is not unlikely that the common man will lose all his political rights and may have ridiculous taxes imposed on him under this government. The common crowd will become restless and eventually, if left unchecked, will begin revolting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aristotle examined these necessary, yet opposing interests and concluded that a mixed constitution is best. An oligarchy ought to strive to appease democrats and avoid a revolt of the poor. A democracy should endeavor to stay away from overburdening the upper classes, lest unrest brews. Essentially, the more a state works for both the rich and the poor, the more stable it\u2019ll be. Aristotle is aiming for a system that matches political power and economic interest. Thus, the state should strive to create a healthy mix of aristocracy and democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a few interesting things to note about this conclusion. Firstly, many modern theorists have arrived at the same conclusion but via a different approach. Many theorists have attempted to have their cake and eat it too by creating a mixed constitution that would enjoy the benefits of aristocracy, democracy, and monarchy. Aristotle\u2019s approach of instead examining what would create the most stable state has an interesting contrast with modern views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, Aristotle\u2019s balancing of political power and economic interest echoes modern findings. We have found that having political power in the hands of the majority of the population and having that majority also hold the majority of wealth is much more likely to be stable. To simplify it, if the middle class comprises the large majority of the population, then society will be more likely to be stable. This is because the majority will side with neither the rich nor the poor in attacking the other. However, we must not be too hasty to apply this to modern society. Though it is tempting to use this concept, and though it may be correct in part, society today is so different and so much more complicated than society anywhere during Aristotle\u2019s time that it cannot be 100% accurate. Regardless, this sort of investigation remains a fun thought experiment and can tell us about ancient society and maybe a bit about modern society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cover photo by Jaylan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Government building is a careful craft. If the state shifts too far toward benefitting one group or another and disadvantaging the remainder of the populace, unrest and revolution begin to brew. But where is the middle point? How does one balance the interests of the oligarchs and the democrats, which are so incompatible? To tackle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-classics","category-economy","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n