Constitutions and Justice in Aristotles Politics - Essay Example

?The link between constitutions and justice in Aristotle’s Politics The Greed philosopher Aristotle put together his theories on governing in a treatise that is known as Politics. Within these philosophies emerges the foundation for the way in which the Western world has developed its political cultures. The primary concept is based on the idea that the middle class is the focus of the concept of justice providing for this social class also being the center of the development of the constitution. Through the middle class, the ideas of justice are lined to the idea of constitutions and the development of the polity becomes founded upon ideals that are focused on the justice that serves the greatest numbers of people. It is through the social construction of justice that a constitution is then created to reflect those traditions, beliefs, and behaviours that define a nation. Swanson and Corbin (2009) suggest that the most important thing to do when discussing Aristotle’s work in political philosophy is to understand the context in which his theories were constructed. Aristotle was not merely observing and reporting on the politics within his world, but was examining the nature of politics through academic and analytical approaches. Swanson and Corbin (2009: 2) boil the discussions that Aristotle made down to a central theory that politics are based upon “the desire to live well”. This very simple desire from within the human experience has spawned a complicated set of boundaries within which life is structured. As Aristotle discovered, through these structures, the pursuit of a good life has developed, sometimes favoring one social group over another, but always in a struggle to find justice and fairness in an attempt to socially balance life. Swanson and Corbin (2009) combine the effects of both Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies in order to reveal one of the most important developments towards Western politics. Both philosophies extract the concepts of knowledge and objectivity from residing within the divine so that they are then attributed to the human mind. The ideas of reason, intellect and mind become a central way in which social construction is created, rather than through the will of the divine. As well, Goodman and Talisse (2007) reflect on the nature of justice as it is discussed in relationship to personal relationships as they compare to political relationships. Aristotle pointed out that justice within personal relationships was based upon the degree of obligation that one has to another person. As an example, to not help a brother is a much more severe violation of human interaction than to fail to help a friend or an acquaintance. Goodman and Talisse (2007: 58) state that “the core idea of justice for him is political. It involves citizens who live in some kind of relation of equality and is not a natural extension of other kinds of justice”. In approaching justice through reason and intellect, political justice is then achieved through an equality that is defined by citizenship. Goodman and Talisse (2007) compare the philosophies of Aristotle to those of Confucius. Confucius looked at the “benevolent rule of a sage king” (Goodman and Talisse (2007: 59) and did not explore the idea of a constitution. In these types of regimes, the rule of culture is supported over that of law. Aristotle, on the other hand, though acknowledging the benefits of an aristocracy, believes that the practical approach is through a “constitution based on the rule of the middle class” (Goodman and Talisse 2007: 59). Blumenfeld (2003) discusses the nature of the constitution and the use of it in a general polity. The word constitution is defined as both referring to the middle class and to the polity. The middle class is the basis of justice and the foundational social group to a polity with a constitution. There are psychologies that surround each of the social classes within a society. Aristotle considered the rich classes to be violent and beyond the power of rule. Obedience is not in the nature of the rich. The poor are so used to obeying their ‘betters’ that they have no affect on justice. It is the middle class that is both interested in justice and dependent upon the rule of law. According to Blumenfeld (2003: 77), “its members are ready to listen to reason, suffer least from ambition, and are therefore the perfect players in the rule-ruled game”. This concept does not discount the idea of kingship. Aristotle approached the idea of kingship, but idealized this idea through the genius king and allowed for the idea of a king through a perfection which was only a short distance from providing for the divinity of a monarchy. Still, as he explored his ideas about justice and how they related to the constitution and political system, Blumenfeld (2003: 78) states that “the king himself must be subject to the law, for even the best human is still a beast, subject to appetite and violence”. Even as Aristotle dreamed of the perfect king, he acknowledged that the king was human and should be an example of living within the law of a society. Sim (2007) suggests that even Aristotle knew that his ideal king did not exist and that and that the virtuous leader was rare and a system could not depend on that circumstance. It is through an understanding of the three class breakdown of society that the success of the constitution that is based on the middle class can be assessed. MacKendrick and Howe (1959) suggest as they translate Aristotle show that he believed that larger cities had a better opportunity for the success of a rule of law as it will have the largest middle class. However, the smaller cities and villages will divide into wealthy and poor, thus negating the middle class and providing for an unsuccessful rule of law. Blumenfeld (2003) discusses how Aristotle approached looking at a political system through understanding how justice was considered. Blumenfeld (2003: 79) states that “The interpretation of justice is the signature of the state, and the state itself is the expression of its concept of justice”. It is in connecting what a social group finds important to that which creates justice that will suggest the nature of the state. The constitution is the reflection of that structure of justice as the state defines what is important. Aristotle combines what is perceived as custom and habituation with the development of law (Sim 2007). Through the creation of justice and defining how justice is experienced, the development of law will support that perception of justice. For Aristotle, the concept exists of natural justice. He writes about an idea that some things are naturally just and cannot be denied when forming a political system. This is reminiscent of the American document, the Declaration of Independence which claims in the Preamble that “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Price 2004: 30). This idea that there was a natural set of rules that provided for justice was a part of the way in which the idea of ‘natural justice’ influenced modern political systems. Kraut (2002) takes his ideas further to discuss how Aristotle suggested that all justice was natural, as because through the practice of law towards justice, it becomes as if it is natural. Through this assumption, the idea that a law is automatically just is created. This would seem to be a bit of a fallacy as some laws are eventually found to violate the rights of others and are changed in order to support the changes in culture. While Aristotle suggests that all law will be natural because its practice makes it as if it is natural, he also goes on to suggest that there is an ideal of a city in which these natural laws reflect the ultimate set of rules that would serve the most people. This ideal reflects what is best and most universally just. Natural justice begins by accepting cultural differences, but is eventually transformed into an ideal that narrows how that can be interpreted (Binmore 2005). Aristotle approaches discussing the idea of what is ‘best’ for society and moved towards discussing this as the only outcome to a society built on natural laws. Natural laws are part of how a city should be run and may not be how It is run (Kraut 2002). It can be shown that Aristotle believed that the constitution comes from a belief in the justice that best serves the middle class. Justice is not an equal thing as the upper class has an assumption of lawlessness, with the lower class having an overt assumption of obedience. This leaves the middle class as the measure against how to develop law and a policy of politics. There is a natural law that will emerge, and although Aristotle allowed for cultural influences, he did believe that human kind was subject to a basic understanding of what was best for its citizens. In the end, it is through Aristotle’s influence that the Western point of view on justice and the constitution has been adapted. Aristotle, however, did show a preference for what was ideal. The connection between justice and the creation of a constitution is through the development of law that best serves the interests of a public towards creating a well lived life. Bibliography Binmore, K. G. (2005). Natural justice. New York: Oxford University Press. Blumenfeld, B. (2003). The political Paul: Justice, democracy and kingship in a Hellenistic framework. London: T & T Clark International. Goodman, L. E., & Talisse, R. B. (2007). Aristotle's Politics today. Albany: State University of New York Press. Kraut, R. (2002). Aristotle: Political philosophy. Oxford: Oxford university press. MacKendrick, P. L., & Howe, H. M. (1959). Classics in translation. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Price, H. K. (2004). The Declaration of Independence. Chicago: Heinemann Library. Sim, M. (2007). Remastering morals with Aristotle and Confucius. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Swanson, J. A., & Corbin, C. D. (2009). Aristotle's Politics: A reader's guide. London: Continuum. Read More