Aristotle’s Politics is one of the foundational political texts of Western civilization. At certain places, a modern person who reads it will no doubt feel offended or repulsed by Aristotle’s views (i.e., on slavery). On the other hand, the modern person will be surprised at how sophisticated it is in other places. It is really a collection of and reflection on the political wisdom of one of the most unique civilizations in the history of the world. In this way, Aristotle’s Politics can provoke thought, provide clarity, and produce wisdom. Here are a few of the quotes I have found most worthy of consideration.
1. “Hence some persons are led to believe that getting wealth is the object of household management, and the whole idea of their lives is that they ought either to increase their money without limit, or at any rate not lose it. The origin of this disposition in men is that they are intent upon living only, and not upon living well; and, as their desires are unlimited, they also desire that the means of gratifying them should be without limit” (Aristotle, 1.9).
2. On the common interest: “For that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it. Everyone thinks chiefly of his own, hardly at all of the common interest; and only when he is himself concerned as an individual” (2.3). That is why “[t]he true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the common interest, but governments which rule with a view to the private interest, whether of the one or the few, or of the many, are perversions” (3.7). Continue reading “7 Thought-Provoking Observations from Aristotle’s Politics“