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Literary Criticism and Theories
Notes
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On Government
When Aristotle moves down from heaven to earth his thought becomes more logical, more
understandable, more concrete. One by one he takes up the various forms of government that
have been tried out in the world—dictatorship, monarchy, oligarchy, (the rule of the few) and
democracy. He analyzes each of them in turn, admits their strong features and points out their
weaknesses. Of all the forms of government, dictatorship is the worst. For it subordinates the
interests of all to the ambition of one. The most desirable form of government, on the other hand,
is that which, “enables every man, whoever he is, to exercise his best abilities and to live his days
most pleasantly.” Such a government, whatever its name, will always be a constitutional
government. Any government without a constitution is a tyranny, whether it is the government of
one man, of a few men, or of many men. The unrestrained will of a handful of aristocrats or of a
horde of common men is just as great a tyranny as the unrestrained will of one man. The dictatorship
of a class is no better than the dictatorship of an individual.
Dislike of Communism
In the first place, the government should not be—like Plato’s Republic—communistic. The common
ownership of property, and especially of women and of children, would result in continual
misunderstandings, quarrels and crimes. Communism would destroy personal responsibility.
“What everybody owns, nobody cares for.” Common liability means individual negligence.
“Everybody is inclined to evade a duty which he expects another to fulfil.” You can no more hope
to communize human goods than you can hope to communize human character. Aristotle advocates
the individual development of each man’s character and the private ownership of each man’s
property.
Public Welfare
But just as each man’s personal character must be directed to the public welfare, so, too, must each
man’s private property be employed for the public use. “And the special business of the legislator
is to create in all men this co-operative disposition.” It is the legislator’s entire business to provide
for public interests of the citizens. To this end there should be no hard-and-fast distinction between
classes, particularly between the class of the rulers and the class of the ruled. Indeed, all the
citizens alike should take their turn of governing and being governed, with the general proviso
that, “the old are more fitted to rule, the young to obey”.
Education
The ruling class must be vitally concerned with the education of the young. And this education
must be both practical and ideal. It must not only provide the adolescent citizens with the means
for making a living, but it must also teach them how to live within their means. In this way, the
state will be assured of an enlightened, prosperous, co-operative and contended body of citizens.
Democracy
Above all, the rulers must aim at the contentment of the ruled. They should achieve contentment
through justice. It is only in this way that they can avoid revolutions. “No sensible man, if he can
escape from it or overthrow it, will endure an unjust government.” Such a government is like a fire
that heats the pent-up resentment of the people to the bursting point. It is bound, sooner or later,
to result in a violent explosion. Judged from the standpoint of fairness toward its citizens,
“democracy appears to be safer and less liable to revolution than any other form of Government.”
The countries that are most likely to explode into early rebellion are those that are governed by
dictators. “Dictatorships” observes Aristotle, “are the most fragile of governments.”
Happiness: Conditions for Its Attainment
The aim of government, writes Aristotle, is to ensure the welfare of the governed. And thus
politics translated into ethics. The state exists for man, and not man for the state. Man is born for
only one purpose—to be happy. But what is happiness ? It is that pleasant state of mind which is