Aristotle's the Politics

Aristotle argued that the polis arose from sheer physical necessity, and is simply the highest form of human partnership. There are three primary levels of such partnerships: 1) the household, which is a partnership between a man, a woman, and their children, 2) the village, which is a partnership of many households, and 3) the polis, which is a partnership of many villages. The polis will eventually arise as the natural completion of the first two partnerships.

The polis arises naturally because of a simple reason: the desire of men to live a good life. It was Aristotle's contention that man can only live such a life in the polis, where his physical needs are provided for and he can engage himself in other pursuits, such as philosophy and politics. According to Aristotle, only beasts and gods do not need a polis.

In addition to its other services, the polis allows a man to gratify his need for social interaction. As previously mentioned, man is a socio-political animal, and cannot exercise his complete humanity when in isolation. Thus Aristotle can claim that "while coming into being for the sake of living, the polis exists for the sake of living well."

On Slavery

The discussion about slavery is one of the most controversial of Aristotle's works. In this portion of The Politics, Aristotle posits that some people are slaves by nature. The criterion for a natural slave is the lack of reason. Comparing slaves to other items of property, he goes on to say that slaves are to be classified as 'animate' property while land, tools, and such are 'inanimate' property.

Aristotle, in accordance to the culture of his time, did not seem to believe in inherent human rights or dignity. Also in accordance with the culture of ancient Athens, he did not regard all men as free and equal. Like the ancient Chinese, he assumed that everyone outside his own country were barbarians. Thus, most barbarians - if not all of them - were slaves by nature, and could be justifiably subjugated.

There is one caveat to Aristotle's thinking about slavery, and it is that some people, who are not slaves by nature, can become slaves in fact - usually due to military defeat and conquest. Aristotle categorically declares that this type of slavery is unjust.

On the Status of Women

Another controversial issue in the The Politics is Aristotle's conception of women. In various passages Aristotle states that the female is inferior to the male, and that the authority of the husband over the wife is naturally ordered. However, the full meaning of his writings on this topic is still unclear - some commentators view it as a typically sexist text, other commentators see a touch of early feminism. After all, Aristotle does draw a line between the status of women and slaves. While slaves are ruled by their masters in a 'kingly' fashion, meaning the rule of the superior over the inferior, he avers that women are ruled in a 'political', which implies a level of equality between the sexes. In another passage he states that women have the deliberate faculty, but simply lack the authority.