Politics (Aristotle)
The two works are frequently considered to be parts of a larger treatise – or perhaps connected lectures – dealing with the "philosophy of human affairs".
In Aristotle's hierarchical system of philosophy he considers politics, the study of communities, to be of higher priority than ethics, which concerns individuals.
In addition to such documentation, Aristotle pursued a research project of collecting 158 constitutions of various city-states in order to examine them for their strong and weak points.
He returned to Macedonia for a while, in part to tutor a young Alexander the Great, and then went back to Athens to found his own school, the Lycaeum.
Though he spent most of his life and career in Athens, he was never an Athenian citizen, but more of a resident alien, with few political rights (he could not own property, for instance).
As a Macedonian and tutor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle was well-placed to be in the good graces of the political leadership of his time, until Athens challenged Macedonian power towards the end of Aristotle's life, and he went into exile from Athens to avoid the possibility of being attacked by anti-Macedonian Athenians.
Aristotle comes to this conclusion because he believes the public life is far more virtuous than the private and because "man is by nature a political animal".
[1]: I.10 Book I concludes with Aristotle's assertion that the proper object of household rule is the virtuous character of one's wife and children, not the management of slaves or the acquisition of property.
He concludes that common sense is against this arrangement for good reason, and claims that experiment shows it to be impractical.
[1]: II.6 Aristotle then discusses the systems presented by two other philosophers, Phaleas of Chalcedon[1]: II.7 (who promoted methods of enforcing wealth egalitarianism) and Hippodamus of Miletus[1]: II.8 (who had detailed plans for utopian communities).
[1]: III.1–2 This excludes honorary citizens, resident aliens, slaves, women, foreigners even if they have some access to the legal system through commercial treaties, boys too young for military service, or people who have been exiled or stripped of their citizenship.
[1]: III.6–8 "The state is an association intended to enable its members, in their households and the kinships, to live well," says Aristotle, "its purpose is a perfect and self-sufficient life."
Ideally, those who contribute most to the association of people living together for the sake of noble action are entitled to a larger share of state authority.
[1]: III.10 In chapter 11, Aristotle explains the wisdom of the crowd phenomenon: "[I]t is possible that the many, no one of whom taken singly is a sound man, may yet, taken all together, be better than the few, not individually but collectively.
[1]: V.1–3 The following causes are examples of situations that can also lead to destabilizing factionalism: If conditions like these prevail, a spark can set off a fire that burns down the constitutional order.
They can also decay slowly into worse forms of democracy if too many people are given the vote and electioneering and pandering to voters becomes the main way to get political power.
Reforms (for example a relaxing of property requirements to be considered a qualified oligarch) can also gradually transform an oligarchy into something more resembling a democracy.
[1]: V.10 Aristotle gives some advice about how to preserve and stabilize various types of constitutional order:[1]: V.8–9,11 Finally, Aristotle criticizes Plato's suggestion from the Republic that there is a natural lifecycle of constitutions in which they begin as aristocracies and then progressively decay through the stages of timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and finally tyranny.
Aristotle says that this is oversimplified, does not make theoretical sense, and fails the empirical test of looking at regime change in the historical record.
This is in large part because the common people are located far from the government seat and are busy with their farms, so they are not often tempted to use their democratic rights: if they can elect and audit their rulers, they are usually satisfied to let them be otherwise.
For instance, if your polis relies on cavalry, your military will be dominated by those who can afford to keep horses, which will reinforce oligarchical norms.
[1]: VI.7 Finally, Aristotle describes the necessary bureaucracy of a polis, which at minimum needs officials who superintend:[1]: VI.8 Law enforcement is particularly difficult to get right.
[1]: VI.8 The purpose of political association is to promote human flourishing (Eudaimonia), something Aristotle defined and further examined in the Nicomachean Ethics.
[1]: VII.1,13–17 Human flourishing requires the basics of biological survival, a good character (the virtues), and the finer things of life.
[1]: VII.3 Aristotle examines certain down-to-earth but important considerations for the success of political organizations: the extent of territory and the size of population, access to the sea, and the influence of climate.
The problem of how to make sure the citizens are virtuous people is vital and of first importance to the person who wants to create or defend a sound state.
The first is largely out of the statesman's control, though eugenics is a possibility Aristotle thinks is worth exploring, and prenatal/postnatal care and nutrition is also important.
[1]: VIII.1–2 Aristotle recommends beginning with gymnastic training at an early age, before children are ready for much intellectual effort.
The literary character of the Politics is subject to some dispute, growing out of the textual difficulties that attended the loss of Aristotle's works.
[5] The first (Books I–III, VII–VIII) would represent a less mature work from when Aristotle had not yet fully broken from Plato, and consequently show a greater emphasis on the best regime.
