PLATO VS ARISTOTLE
Plato and Aristotle are arguably the most influential philosophers in the history of Western thought. ... Both Plato and Aristotle believe the aim of government or politics should ultimately be happiness. ... " (Aristotle Politics 217) "[O]ur aim in founding the State was not the disproportionate happiness of any one class, but the greatest happiness of the whole." (Plato The Republic 129) In order to establish who held in their view the best form of government we must do three things: first, we must establish which of their various governments we are going to compare, second, we must establish criteria for the best government based on similar concepts within their philosophies, and third, we must juxtapose their respective governments and judge them on the basis of the established criteria. To establish which of their government types we are going to compare we must consider that both Plato and Aristotle mused about various forms or types of government and how specifically those forms might rate in achieving the purposes of government. Both believed in an ideal form, Plato in the ideal Aristocracy characterized by "all knowing" guardian rulers, and Aristotle in the Monarchy which would be ruled by a virtuous man who acts always in the best interest of the citizens. However, each knew that practical application of these ideal governments would be virtually impossible in our world, thus if Plato and Aristotle dismiss them as unrealistic, so must we. ... The moment Aristocracy de-evolves, it becomes unjust, thus Plato will only consider other governments as examples of injustice and certainly will not champion them. ... (Plato, The Republic 203) This belief was the inspiration behind Platos school, "The Academy". Because Plato spent his lifes work around this concept of establishing Aristocracy, not the ideal, but a practical one, Platos Aristocracy will naturally represent Platos ideal of the best government. An Aristocracy may not seem to be the most practical, but for Plato nothing less would be just. Like Plato, Aristotle felt that his ideal government could never be realized in this world. But unlike Plato, Aristotle believed that justice or happiness could be found outside of the confines of his ideal. Aristotle believed that Aristocracy, although not as perfect as his ideal of monarchy, was a practicable possibility. ... "We should consider, not only what form of government is best, but also what is possible and what is easily attainable by all"(Aristotle Politics 313). Aristotle viewed Polity as the most universally applicable government that still contained the elements necessary for justice. Polity is discussed most by Aristotle, and is most often recognized as the form of government he championed as the best. As Plato never discussed Polity, we can assume it was Aristotles brain child. ... To assume we understand the world that Plato and Aristotle lived in, would not only be erroneous, but vain as well. ... Justice is a critical concept for both Plato and Aristotle. ... For Plato justice is each person in a city performing those tasks that are most suited to their nature, or as Plato puts it, "Justice was doing ones own business, and not being a busybody." (147) Plato, in his discussion, qualifies three classes which, according to Plato will be set apart by the natures of the citizens who make up those classes. For Plato, injustice stems from people trying to do jobs that are not in their natures. ... Aristotle views justice as "equality for equals", which is to say that like Plato he believes each person has a specific nature and when a person with a lesser nature tries to do or act as someone with a superior nature, it is unjust. ... As discussed earlier, both Plato and Aristotle believe the purpose of government is to make its citizens as happy as possible. Plato believes that a just person will be happier than an unjust person, as that is the major focus of The Republic. Plato contends that the purpose of government is to help people to live just lives, whether they want to or not.