s of the state. For this reason, he excludes workers as citizens because they would not have the required time to openly participate in politicking. Plato and Aristotle on Politics 5The Aristotelian polis, as opposed to Plato's, is a city with a large middle class which promotes stability and balances the conflicting claims of the poor and the rich. Aristotle combines elements of democracy with elements of aristocracy, again to balance opposing claims. Because he is aware that human interest is an inextricable entity, the distribution of scarce and valuable goods is in proportion to contribution to the good of the polis. This system provides for the self interested who believe that those who work harder should receive more. Another point is that the citizens rule and are ruled in turn, insofar as the mixed social system allows. This is permissible because of the strong involvement of the citizens in government; it is what one would call a "true democracy." Overall, a spirit of moderation prevails. Naturally, since Aristotle and Plato have been around for such a long time, our society certainly contains some of their influences in a general sense. For example, today it is believed that certain people are born with certain capacities. Intelligence has been attributed to genetics. Because of the different intelligence levels among people, we have different classes--for example: advanced, intermediate, and beginners. In their appropriate level, each person develops his or her abilities to the highest potential. This concept is sometimes at odds with the ideal of equality, i.e. we are all human beings. Yet, in essence, it does not take away from the ideal because we are all humans, but we differ in certain capacity levels to complete tasks. Plato's and Aristotle's philosophy have helped shape present thought, though, by no means, mandate our practices. The philosophers are very community oriented while we value the individual. Besides differ...
