I.

Area of practicability
a. In practice, the states are mainly either oligarchic or democratic.
b. Different factors, mainly social, political and economic, give rise to a large number of
combinations.
c. Statesman must accustom himself to dealing with complicated problems.
d. Types of democracies
i. Many kinds of democracies, from moderate to extreme.
ii. Depends mainly on relative number of populace who hold power and the kind
of property qualifications employed.
iii. Worst Democracy
1. The worst democracy is that in which, the property qualification is
entirely absent but the people are paid for their participation.
2. This kind of democracy places power in the hands of an urban working-
class who use that power in an unrestrained manner to benefit
themselves at the expense of the moderate, intelligent and hard-
working citizens.
iv. Best practicable democracy
1. Best practicable democracy is composed mainly of farmers who are
preoccupied with their land and permit trained administrators to
conduct public affairs in the general interest.
2. Here, ultimate power rests with the people but they will not use it
unless malpractice on the part of administrators makes such action
necessary.
3. It is a representative, rather than a direct democracy.
e. Types of Oligarchies
i. Many types.
ii. Depending upon the degree of concentration of property and the consequent
restrictiveness of the property qualification required for voting and holding
public office.
iii. If property ownership is not too concentrated and the oligarchy does not
abuse its privileges, a law-abiding state is a possibility.
iv. The dangers of oligarchies is that they can become too oligarchic when only a
few have power.
v. This will create dissatisfaction among people.
f. Both the democracies and oligarchies have this danger of being either principle to
extreme.
II. The Polity
a. Aristotle draws important conclusion that the best practicable state is a balance of
democratic and oligarchic principles.
b. “We shall only be concerned with the sort of life which most men are able to share
and the sort of constitution which is possible for most states to enjoy”.
 c. Two contending forces
i. Quality
1. Wealth, birth, social position and education. (oligarchic factors)
ii. Quantity
1. Numbers, the claims of the mass of the people. (democratic factors)
d. Neither oligarchic nor democratic force can be ignored, but balance between the two
should be found to achieve stability.
i. Stability can be achieved by lodging power in the middle class if its sufficiently
large in order to check the forces of extreme oligarchy and extreme democracy.
ii. This is the principle of mean (moderation)
e. Middle class is the logical recipient of power
i. The rich have too many advantages and are unwilling to accept discipline.
ii. The poor have too few advantages and lack spirit.
iii. Middle class is more inclined to reason.
f. Polity is also representative of mixed constitution of oligarchy and democracy.
g. Polity is Aristotle’s best practicable state.
i. Its stability is proportional to the size of the middle class.
ii. In modern times, the great democracies are also middle-class democracies.
iii. The fascists, Hitler and Mussolini, through unwise in many things, were shrewd
enough to appeal to, and base their dictatorships upon, the middle class.
III. Maintaining constitutional stability
a. In practice, states will tend to be oligarchic or democratic.
b. Such states improve themselves by working towards the principles of the polity.
c. Even if they do not do so, one should never become a hermit.
i. Because only within the matrix of state can progress occur, morality and good
life, can be achieved.
d. Aristotle insists that the state is absolutely essential for a human existence even if it’s a
tyrannical state.
e. The main reason for instability in oligarchies and democracies is that they become too
extreme versions of themselves.
i. The maintenance of an approximate mean is most desirable.
ii. Certain principles must be guarded in both forms
1. Lawlessness
2. Individuals must be given rewards in proportion to their contribution to
society.
IV. Aristotle’s Criticism of Ideal State of Plato