Aristotles opinions on Democracy essays

Aristotle's opinions on Democracy essays Aristotle, in pondering the study of the state, first decides to break down the state into its component parts: the family unit. The family is the association established by nature for the supply of mans everyday wants (1253a, 12). Uniting several families aims at more than just the daily needs of one family and this creates a village. Several villages when combined equal a state. The family unit is a patriarchal unit in which the man of the house is the natural leader. These earlier forms of society are natural and therefore the state is natural; it is the end of them and a nature is somethings end (13). The household is a patriarchal environment where the man is the sovereign, ruling over the women, children, and slaves. Aristotle comments For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth some are marked out for subjection and others for rule. This antidemocratic sentiment would lead people to believe that Aristotle supports monarchal or oligarchic versus democratic ideals. He continues to use the family unit as an analogy for society. Within each family unit is the master male figure that rules over the wife, both rule over the children and all rule over the slaves. He theorizes that the Father has a royal rule over the slaves and a royal rule over the children. He then says the man rules the woman constitutionally (an almost democratic thought) and with some exceptions, the male is naturally fitter for command then the female. He claims the rule works like this: the nature of citizens is equal, but whe n one rules over another a difference is created in the forms of names and titles of respect (1259b, 5). Aristotles position on the equality of women and men is confusing; he goes back and forth saying the woman is weaker and less fit for rule but then comparing their relationship to that of equa...