Foundations of Political Thought

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Aristotle and Socrates and Plato’s beliefs have similarities mainly evident in their denouncement of democracy for the state. The views of Socrates expressed and written by his pupil Plato are vastly philosophical in nature and he promotes the idea of questioning life to achieve insight. The philosophers who possess the absolute truth are the best equipped to rule society according to Plato and his Allegory of the Cave. Conversely, Aristotle takes a more political science approach of discussing and analyzing various constitutions to determine the best form of government, where the rational beings in a society are the natural rulers. Aristotle promotes the idea of rule based on law rather than simple superiority. The differences in these beliefs are important because of the implications of Aristotle’s writings, which provide a way for citizens and statesmen to utilize philosophy in politics and the state. Consequently, information in Politics is seen again throughout modern politics.

The similarities of Aristotle’s beliefs expressed through his writings in Politics to the beliefs of Plato and Socrates expressed in the recorded dialogues of The Republic are centered mainly on a fear of democracy. Aristotle asserts that only those who are concerned with virtue and good government should be the leaders in a society or community (Politics, 80). In Book III of Politics Aristotle describes what the role of the majority should be in politics,

By means of these considerations, too, one might solve the problem mentioned earlier and also the related one of what the free should have authority over, that is to say, the multitude of the citizens who are not rich and have no claim whatsoever arising from virtue. For it would not be...

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...archy and democracy into polity. Through this idea of addressing factions and political interdependence Aristotle outlines the way to a lasting state. In Federalist 10, Madison describes in a similar way that competing factions imposing a system of checks and balances can protect against dominance of a single faction or class.

Aristotle’s claims of law, constitution, polity, factions, and citizenship all have comparability to many U.S. notions of political life, even his justification of slavery is reminiscent of the views of some founding fathers. Aristotle discovered and outlined many elements of early American political thought long before the existence of the United States. Aristotle himself said, “For practically speaking, all things have been discovered, although some have not been collected, and others are known about but not used” (Politics, 34).

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