UNIT-I (B)-ARISTOTLECLASSIFICATION OF GOVERNMENT; LAW AND JUSTICE

ARISTOTLE: AN INTRODUCTION:

Aristotle (384‐322 B.C) was an ancient Greek philosopher. He was the bestdisciple of Plato and the tutor of Alexander the Great. Aristotle’s father was a court physician to the King Macedon. HenceAristotle was influenced medicine which gave him an opportunity todevelop scientific outlook. That is why he widely used biological andmedical analogies in his discourses on ethics and politics. Aristotle has been regarded as the father of Political Science as he wasthe first to analyse, critically and systematically, the then existingconstitutions and classify them. Aristotle went to Athens to study philosophy under the guidance of Plato.Plato was so deeply impressed by his talent, hence he called him thebrain of his academy.

Aristotle remained in the Academy for the next 20 years, first as astudent and then as a member of the faculty till 348 BC, and left theAcademy after Plato’s death. Both Plato and Aristotle saw instability of the state as the majorproblems of the Greek city‐states and held moral decline or anarchyresponsible for this deplorable state of affairs. They held the view that the state comes into existence for the sake of lifeand continues for the sake of good life.However, Aristotle sought to build his philosophy on scientificfoundation while Plato had largely relied on speculative method. In other terms, Plato was an idealist and a radical while Aristotle is arealist and a moderate.

While Plato had combined all the branch of knowledge into a singlesystem in his prominent work Republic, Aristotle sought to draw adistinction between different branches of knowledge. In western tradition before Aristotle all branches of knowledge camewithin the purview of philosophy. Aristotle was the first to introduce the classification of knowledge andpaved the way for their independent development.He not only laid the foundations of the science of politics, but made asignificant contribution to its development which is contained in hisfamous work ‘Politics.’

Politics plays a decisive role in regulating various relationship withinthe human society.Men learn to control their destiny with the help of politics. All other branches of knowledge are merely the instruments oforganizing their political life. Politics comprehends all the activities, rules and regulations,organizations and institutions which are meant to good life whichrepresents the end of politics. Hence all other sciences and arts aresubordinate to the science of politics. Aristotle established his school Lyceum when he was denied anopportunity to head the academy for the second time. From 335 BCtill his death, he devoted himself to research, teaching andadministrative duties in Lyceum.

CLASSIFICATION OF GOVERNMENTS/CONSTITUTION

Aristotle was very concerned about the prevailing instability ofgovernment in his contemporary Greek city‐states. So he sought to develop a model constitution/govt that wouldensure political stability.Aristotle sent his disciples to various places for the purpose ofpreparing case histories of their constitutions. In this process, 158 case histories of various city‐states wereprepared which were examined by Aristotle himself. On this basis heproduced his famous classification of governments/constitutions.

• Aristotle classification of governments/constitutions based ontwo factors

1. Quantitative: The number of persons who exercise supremepower. Whether a state is ruled by One, the Few or ManyPersons.

2. Qualitative: The ends they seek to serve self‐interest orbenefit of the community. Whether the ruler is devoted tointerest of the state (the normal form of constitution) or tohis self‐interest (the perverted or deviant form).

Normal Form: Where the ruler is devoted to interest of the statePerverted Form: Where the ruler is devoted to self‐interest, againstthe interest of the state.

MONARCHY: A government by a king who rules for the good of thewhole community. TYRANNY: A perverted form of Monarchy in which the one ruleruses his supreme authority for his own selfish benefits. ARISTOCRACY: The rule of the few good rulers who exercisesupreme authority for the well‐being of the people.OLIGARCHY: The selfish government of the few rich men in theirown interests. POLITY: A good form of the rule of the many for the good of all. DEMOCRACY: Aristotle says: The rule of the poor who are many butlawless, just as an Oligarchy is the rule of the few rich, who areselfish.

Aristotle observed that none of these forms of govt was stablewithout proper checks on the power of the ruler.

Monarchy was good under normal conditions. But in the absenceof any effective control over the absolute power of monarch, itdegenerated into tyranny because ‘power and virtue’ cannot exist.

Tyranny/dictatorship was followed by a rebellion by the chosenfew who overthrew it and set up aristocracy in its place.

In the absence of any effective curbs on their power, aristocracydegenerated into oligarchy. In due course the many rose against it and replaced it by polity.This again degenerated into democracy which was eventuallyoverthrown by a single virtuous man who set up monarchy inits place.These are known as the cycle of change of governments.

MONARCHYNormal Form

TYRANYPerverted Form

ARISTOCRACYNormal Form

OLIGARCHYPerverted Form

POLITYNormal Form

DEMOCRACYPerverted Form

THE CYCLE OF CHANGE OF

GOVERNMENTS

Criticism of Aristotle’s classification:

• Aristotle’s classification is unscientific and quantitative: It is argued thatAristotle’s classification is not based on any scientific principle as it laysemphasis on quantitative rather than qualitative aspect.

• Aristotle does not distinguish between State and Government:Criticising Aristotle’s classification, Dr. Garner has said, “Aristotle doesnot distinguish between state and government, with the result that hisclassification is the classification of states, while it ought to be ofgovernments.

• Aristotle’s classification does not cover all the modem forms ofGovernments: According to Seeley and Leacock, Aristotle could notconceive the modern ‘country‐states’. His classification is of smallcity‐states and not of big states.

• If his classification is accepted, we shall have to place AbsoluteMonarchy, Constitutional, Elected and Hereditary Monarchy in oneand the same category.

• This will bring similarity between the Monarchy as it prevails inSaudi Arabia and Great Britain, while both are not the same.Besides, modern forms of government are Parliamentary,Presidential, Unitary and Federal types. Aristotle’s classificationdoes not include and explain these forms of governments

• Democracy is not the worst form of Government: According toAristotle, Democracy is the worst form of government and he hasused it in the sense of a Rule of crowd.

• This type of condition prevailed in Greece in Aristotle’s time, butthis is not the condition in modern times.

• In modern times, the term democracy is used in a good sense and itis considered to be the best form of government.

• Aristotle’s cycle of change does not fit in the development ofmodern state: The cycle of political change given by Aristotle isapplicable only to ancient Greece and Rome and not to modernstates.

• There is no place for mixed Forms of Government in Aristotle’sclassification: Modern governments are mixed governments. Forexample, Great Britain is Monarchy, and the government in thatcountry is Unitary and Parliamentary.

• There is Parliamentary and Democratic Government in India withthe mix of Unitary and Federal forms.

• The U.S.A. is a democratic and the government in that country isPresidential and Federal. These forms of government have no placein Aristotle’s classification.

• Aristotle’s classification is not applicable to Theocracy:According to Bluntschli, Aristotle’s classification is not applicable toTheocracy, because in this type of government the supreme poweris attributed to God or some other superhuman being or to an idea.The men who exercise authority are deputies of God on this earth.

• Aristotle’s classification is also criticised for differentiating betweenAristocracy and Oligarchy, while modern political thinkers do notattach any importance to this difference. It is also not possible tosay where Aristocracy ends and Polity begins.

Despite so many criticisms, one must admit that Aristotle’s theoriesof classifications, Cyclic change, etc., possess an undeniableimportance in Political Philosophy.Aristotle’s works proved to be the cornerstone for comingphilosophers and their theories.He gave a base to the discipline which the world is still trying toimprove.

ARISTOTLE’S CONCEPT OF LAW AND JUSTICE

Western philosophers generally regard justice as themost fundamental of all virtues for orderinginterpersonal relations and establishing andmaintaining a stable political society.The entire Greek political thought revolves around theimportant concept of justice.Both Plato and Aristotle believed that the primary taskof a state is to ensure justice.

• Like Plato, Aristotle believed that justice is the very essence of thestate and no polity can endure for a long time unless it is foundedon a right scheme of justice.

• According to Aristotle, a common understanding of the principles ofjustice is the foundation of a political community.

• He said that Justice is concerned with the regulation of humanrelations.

• Aristotle believes that justice saves the states from destruction; itmakes the states and political life pure and healthy.

• Aristotle tried to define the principles of justice according tohis own understanding.• His view of justice reflects his adherence to conservatism ashe was in favour of keeping the existing social order intact.

Conservatism is a political outlook that promotes respect for thelong‐standing social and political order. It discourages the adoptionof new and untried ideas and institutions, and insists on maintainingthose institutions which have stood the test of time. Aristotle isregarded an early exponent of conservatism.

UNIVERSAL /GENERAL/COMPLETE JUSTICE

For Aristotle, justice is either Universal/General/Complete orParticular. According to Aristotle, general justice is complete goodness. It is complete in the fullest sense, because it is the exercise ofcomplete goodness not only in himself but also towards hisneighbours. The general justice refers to obedience to laws—that one should bevirtuous.

• All lawful things are just• General rules of justice or Correct behaviour that aims at promotingthe common interest of the entire community.

• Justice is a Complete virtue or Perfect virtue:• Justice is a behaviour towards others in conformity with generalrules of correct behaviour as enshrined in the law.

• Justice is not a part of virtue but whole of it.• Universal justice is a conduct in agreement with law

PARTICULAR JUSTICE• Particular justice is a part of complete or universal or general justice.Particular justice has classified into two Distributive Justice and CorrectiveJustice.

• According to Aristotle legislator should be concerned with Distributivejustice whereas the judge should be concerned with Corrective justice.Why we need Particular Justice? It is not possible to always follow General/Universal Normative frameworkof law. There might be acts which may be just or unjust regardless of laws. In the complexities of life Particular decision must be taken.Particular Justice therefore has two types:1. Distributive Justice2. Corrective or Commutative Justice

DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICEDistributive justice implies that the state should divide or distributegoods and wealth among citizens according to their merit. According to Aristotle, distributive justice is founded on the assumedprinciple that there is equal distribution of distributable things amongequals in a given society. As to what can be distributed, Aristotle mentions two different typesof things on the one hand, the good things or benefits such ashonours, wealth, rights, powers, privileges and other positiveadvantages in society; and on the other hand, the evil things orburdens such as duties, liabilities, disabilities and similar negative ordisadvantageous things. Both categories are to be shared equally among citizens.

The basic principles of distributive justice is ‘treating equals equally andunequal unequally.’ Equal should get equal share and unequal should get unequal share. Aristotle preferred to rely on the prevailing custom and customary lawfor deciding as to who were equals or unequal. Aristotle was of the opinion that this form of justice is the most powerfullaw to prevent any revolution, as this justice believes in proper andproportionate allocation of offices, honours, goods and services as pertheir requirement being a citizen of the state. Aristotle advocated that every political organization must have its owndistributive justice. He, however, rejected democratic as well as oligarchic criteria of justiceand permitted the allocation of offices to the virtuous only owing to theirhighest contributions to the society, because the virtuous people are few.Aristotle argued that most of the offices should be allocated to those fewonly.

Distributive justice assigns to every man his due according to hiscontributions to the society.Distributive justice is identifiable with proportionate equality.What is just is what is proportionate.Distribution should be done in proportion to different qualityand worth.While doing distribution we take into account who the person is.Here equality is not in strict sense equality‐‐‐ Equality withregard to person concerned.

CORRECTIVE/RECTIFICATORY/COMMUTATIVE JUSTICE

This justice discuss about how a society will correct wrongs that havebeen done. Corrective justice deals with the rectification of an injustice inflictedby one person on another. This justice deals with imposition of punishment and payment ofdamages. It requires full restoration of any loss involuntarily sustained in thecourse of transactions between individual members of thecommunity.

The need for this type of justice arises in two cases:1. Out of Voluntary Act: Buying, Selling, Lending, etc.,2. Out of Involuntary Act: Theft, Poisoning, Murder, Assault,

etc., It aims to restore what an individual had lost due to theinjustice of the society.This justice prevents from encroachments of one right over theother.

This type of Justice is required in cases where one individualacts against other in such a way, that the Culprit gains andVictim suffers. In this case the judge takes ‘gain’ from the Culprit and return itto the Victim, thus restoring equality: Where the Culprit isPunished and the Victim is Compensated.

In this type of Justice Strict equality before law isfollowed:While awarding penalty or Compensation, character ofindividual is not considered or taken into account: Law only looks at the nature of Damage caused.Equality without regard to the person concerned orpersonal identity doesn’t matter here.Here Arithmetic Proportion is followed.Most of the courts today is dealing with correctivejustice.

ARISTOTLE’S THEORY OF JUSTICE

ARISTOTLE’S THEORY OF JUSTICE

UNIVERSAL JUSTICE/GENERAL JUSTICE PARTICULAR JUSTICE

CORRECTIVE JUSTICEDISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE

COMPARISON OF DISTRIBUTIVE & CORRECTIVE JUSTICE

• Distributive justice operates on a global level while corrective justiceoperates on the level of dispute or misunderstanding between twopersons in their legal relationship.

• The focus of the distributive justice is to the extent that all people’sdignity and personality should be equally respected by all and, assuch, no one should be found doing an act of harm to the otherparty.

• On the other hand, corrective or remedial justice comes to playwhere a person has done harm or inflicted injury on the other partyand would be required to restore that person to his status quo ante.

• Both concepts of distributive and corrective justice are twin termsof the particular justice as classified by Aristotle.

• Both concepts are very useful social instruments in the process ofengineering a peaceable, progressive and just society.

• Both concepts are a follow up on each other in the sense that wheredistributive justice has failed to achieve its own objective, thencorrective justice will fall in place to redress what the distributivejustice fail to do so.

• Legislatures should always consider the concept of distributivejustice in the course of the promulgation of its various laws,enactments and legislations. And the judge should consider theconcept of Corrective justice while delivering justice.

PLATO AND ARISTOTLE ON JUSTICE

For Plato, justice is the performance of one's duties to the best ofone's abilities and capacities;For Aristotle, justice is the reward in proposition to what onecontributes;Plato's justice is related to 'duties'; it is duties‐oriented whereasAristotle's justice is related to 'rights'; it is rights‐oriented;Plato's theory of justice is essentially moral and philosophical; thatof Aristotle is legal;

Both laid a conception of distributive justice. For Plato, that meantindividual excellence and performance of one's duties while forAristotle it meant what people deserve, the right to receive.Plato's justice is spiritual whereas Aristotle's, practical, i.e., it isvirtue in action, goodness in practice,Plato's justice is related to one's inner self, i.e., what comes straightfrom the soul;Aristotle's justice is related to man's actions, i.e., with his externalactivities.

CRITICISMSAristotle’s concept of distributive Justice does not apply to modernconditions. Based on the notion of award of officers and honours in proportion to aman’s’ contribution to society, it could apply to a small city states and isnot applicable to modern sovereign states with huge population. Thus his theory distributive justice is far away from the reality of themodern world. Despite of criticisms, one must admit that Aristotle’s concepts on justicepossess an undeniable importance in Political Philosophy. Aristotle’s works proved to be the cornerstone for coming philosophersand their theories. He gave a base to the discipline which the world is still trying to improve.