Laws need to be made in accordance with the regime. Which element of the city should have authority? The multitude may collectively be better judges of certain things, so it is proper for them to share in deliberating and judging, but they should not share in the highest offices. Because the city exists for the sake of living well, virtue must be a care for every city.
Justice is equality for equals and inequality for unequals.
Democracy is rule by the multitude, oligarchy is rule by the wealthy, and tyranny is monarchic rule of a master. Kingship is rule by one person, aristocracy is rule by a few based on merit, and polity is a mixture of democracy and oligarchy. The correct regimes are kingship, aristocracy and polity the incorrect regimes are deviations from those and are tyranny, oligarchy and democracy respectively. Deviant regimes are those which look to the advantage of the rulers, and they involve mastery rather than political rule. To the extent the actual regime approximates the best regime, the virtue of a good man and an excellent citizen will coincide.Ĭorrect regimes are those which look to the common advantage. The virtue of a good man and an excellent citizen may be different, because the virtue of a citizen is determined with a view to the preservation of the regime. Commonly speaking, however, a citizen is usually considered to be anyone whose parents are citizens. Citizenship is therefore essentially democratic, but the notion of citizenship in practice must differ according to the nature of the regime. Holding property in common will not reduce factional conflict, but may actually increase because of a sense of injustice.Ī citizen in the strict sense is one who shares in making decisions and holding office. Holding women, children and property in common as Plato suggests in the Republic is not beneficial to the city.
Mastery is rule over slaves, but political rule is rule over free and equal persons. There are also slaves according to the law, who may or may not be natural slaves. It is mutually beneficial that such people be ruled. Natural slaves are those who perceive reason but do not have it. Man is by nature a political animal, because he has the ability to communicate and to dialogue and about justice and the good. The city is a political partnership that comes into being for purposes of self-sufficiency but exists primarily for the sake of living well.
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