Aristotle’s Theory of Constitution. Explained.
A constitution organises offices in a State, determines sovereign authority, and prescribes the end to be pursued by a community and its members. According to Aristotle, States have devised different constitutions to organise themselves and we should deal with what exists rather than what ought to be. He further said that even the worst arrangements can be improved and what is best for one State may not suit another.
After comparing and analysing 158 constitutions of the time, he classified these constitutions into three broad categories: rule by one, rule by few, and rule by many.
| Types of Constitutions | ||
| Number of Rulers | Good | Degenerated/Bad |
| Rule by one | Monarchy — rule by a monarch for the good of all. | Tyranny — rule by a tyrant for his own good. |
| Rule by few | Aristocracy — rule by the best men for the good of all. | Oligarchy — rule by the wealthy for their own good. |
| Rule by many | Polity — rule by the many for the common good. | Democracy — mob rule; rule by the many for the good of the many. |
Aristotle suggested that monarchy is better than aristocracy and aristocracy than polity. But the corruption of the best is worst. Therefore, tyranny is worst than oligarchy and oligarchy than democracy.
What decides the good and the bad constitutions? The answer lies in the ‘good’ at which the ruler or ruling group aims. According to Aristotle, constitutions promoting general well-being of the governed are good, whereas those that hinder the interests of the governed are degenerated/bad/perverted. In other words, a government is good when it aims at the good of the whole community, bad when it cares only for the rulers.
ARISTOTLE’S BEST-PRACTICABLE STATE
For Aristotle, politics should not only consider the ideal Constitution, but also know what is practicable and enduring under the given circumstances. In this regard, he argued that, in general, the most stable governments are those which are moderate and broad-based.
Accordingly, the most stable constitution, for Aristotle, is the one ruled by the middle class — a government of neither the wealthy few nor the propertyless many but somewhere between the two. The members of the middle class are not wealthy enough to be resented and sufficiently well-off not to want to dispossess the wealthy. The rule of the middle class is found in the Polity (This is the political expression of Aristotle’s doctrine of mean).
Aristotle’s best-practicable State, Polity, which is ruled by the middle class, fulfils two important ideals — equality and consensus. The rich have enjoyed too many advantages and are unwilling to obey and accept discipline. The poor, because of deprivation, lacks spirit and enthusiasm. These two extremes in the social structure find it hard to follow reason.
In oligarchy, the rich governs without the consideration for the poor. In democracy, power is in the hands of the needy and they disregard the interest of the rich. Thus, oligarchies will antagonise the poor who are numerous and democracies will antagonise the rich who are few but influential. Both constitutions are often unstable.
Aristotle argues that men of middle class are most ready to listen to reason. They are the mean in the social structure, not only balancing the oligarchic (the state of contempt) and democratic (the state of envy) elements but also mixing them in the right proportion so as to ensure stability. Middle class is trusted by both rich and poor.
The middle class knows how to simultaneously command and obey as free people. The rule of the middle class would be a bulwark against selfishness, tyranny, unlawfulness, and instability.
Polity or the rule of the middle class is Aristotle’s best-practicable State that guarantees stability, responsible government, consensus, equality, and virtuous State.
In this context, Karl Popper opined that Aristotle’s best State is a compromise between three things — a romantic Platonic aristocracy, a sound and balanced feudalism, and some democratic ideas. But feudalism has the best of it. Popper’s statements arises largely because Aristotle excluded women and slaves from citizenship.
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