Aristotle’s Forms of Government
Most of the world’s people belong to political groups called nations or countries. In each
country, people are organized to keep order, provide common services (such as education,
communications, and transportation) and protect themselves from attack from other countries.
Since the earliest years of human history, group of people living together have needed
rules to regular their daily lives. Small, pre-industrial societies chose chiefs or other leaders to
make and enforce the rules by which they lived. The people themselves took no part in the rulemaking. They left everything up to their leaders. But, as cultures developed, people became
interested in making the rules or laws that governed them. They learned how to create a
government.
Governments decide such matters as what kinds of property should be publicly owned or
privately owned, and how much a person should pay in taxes. Governments can set educational
requirements, limit immigration, decide on what constitutes a crime and reasonable punishment
and protect its citizens.
Greek philosopher Aristotle distinguished between true (right) and corrupt (wrong) forms
of government. He said that a government is only true if every citizen benefits. He identified six
forms of government.
A kingship is ruled by a single man who becomes a ruler through heredity or election.
Aristotle thought kings had the advantage of working quickly and decisively in emergencies. He
said if a king ruled justly, all citizens would benefit. But, since kings could have emotions and
faults, he felt that they should be limited by the law and made “guardians” or “ministers” of the
law.
If a king should use his power to benefit only himself and not the common interest, then
the form of government would be a tyranny. Tyranny was a corrupt form of government
because it oppresses all others and is interested only in personal gain.
Another form of government is an aristocracy. Aristocracies are societies governed by a
small group of men chosen because they are the “best”. In Aristotle’s view, aristocrats are men
of wealth and leisure who have developed their minds so that they have superior intellects. He
believed that these men would only rule for the benefit of all.
But when an aristocracy rules only for the benefit of the rich, it becomes an oligarchy.
Oligarchies were one of the common forms of government tin the Greek city-states and poor
citizens did not benefit.
Aristotle was never a fan of democracy. He believed that democracy meant that every
free-born man had the right and duty to help rule the city. Thus, both rich can poor, educated and
ignorant, smart and dull-witted, could attend assembly meetings, vote, and hold office. Aristotle
felt that the poor could easily outvote the wealthy and then a democracy would just be a “tyranny
with many heads”. It would benefit only a small part of society.
Finally, Aristotle believed that the best form of government was a constitutional
democracy. This is really a mix of oligarchy and democracy. He believed it was the best way to
meet the needs of all or most citizens. This form of government he believed was moderate. One
should neither eat too much nor too little. One should neither exercise excessively nor spend
most of the time sleeping. As in life, so with government, Aristotle believed.
Form of
How many
Government
rulers?
Who
benefits?
True or
corrupt?
Answer the following questions on the back of this page. Support your
answers with explanations/reasons.
1. Why do we have governments?
2. What do you think would happen if we had no government?
3. What type of government do you think Rome had under Julius Caesar?
4. What kind of government did Rome have in the Roman Empire?
5. Why type of government does the United States have?