nterest. Aristotle further explains the forms of government by saying, “A constitution is the arrangement of magistracies in a State, especially of the highest of all. The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the common interest; but governments which rule with a view to the private interest, whether of the one, or of the few, or of the many, are perversions. For citizens, if they are truly citizens, ought to participate in the advantages of a State” (164, 167). Aristotle feels that aristocracy, the rule of the best, is so called because the rulers are the best men, or because they have at heart the best interests of the State and of the citizens. When the citizens at large administer the State for the common interest, the government is called by the generic name—a constitution. One man or a few may excel in virtue, but there are many kinds of virtue. Also, as the number increases it becomes more difficult for them to attain perfection in every kind (though they may in military virtue), for this is found in the masses.Aristotle explains further that the perverted should not govern. According to Aristotle the perversions are as follows: of royalty, tyranny; of aristocracy, oligarchy; of constitutional government, and of democracy. He says that tyranny is a kind of monarchy that views only the interests of the monarchy, which has in views the interests of the monarch only. Oligarchy views the interest of the wealthy and of the needy. He believes that none of these ideas dealt with the common good of all. In hopes to keep the next generation from becoming like the present one Aristotle taught young Alexander the Great his own ideas about politics (Oliver). Traditions and Encounters show that until the seventeenth century C.E., most European philosophers still regarded the Greeks as intellectual authorities (Chapter 9). Ex-President Cl...
