The Ideal State: Plato versus Aristotle

1
The Ideal State Plato versus Aristotle

• For Plato, the ideal state is a natural
  aristocracy ruled by a class of intellectually
  elite philosophers that includes both men and
  women
• For Aristotle, any form (rule by one, few, or
  many) is good so long as it promotes the good
  life for its citizens the good types are
  monarchy, aristocracy, and polity, while the bad
  are tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy

2
Natural Law Theory

• For Stoics, the natural law was impersonal, a
  principle of reason found in nature
• St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas reconceived
  the natural law of the Stoics as the eternal law
  of God as apprehended by human reason and
  conscience
• This raised difficult issues about the proper
  relationship between secular and natural law and
  between the authority of the church and the state

3
Natural Law According to Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

• Hobbes viewed the natural law as principles of
  rational prudence about self-preservation
• seek peace, but if you cant get it use any means
  to defend yourself
• be content, for the sake of peace, with only as
  much liberty as you would allow others
• keep your agreements (covenants) with others
• To implement these, our selfish natures must be
  restrained by the threat of force from a strong,
  mutually-agreed state

4
Two Issues of Constitutional Law

• What is the relationship between the power and
  authority of the states and the powers and
  authority of the federal government?
• Is there a constitutionally protected right to
  privacy that can be used to ground other rights
  (such as the right to have an abortion)?

5
Classical Liberalism Harriet Taylor (1807-1858)
and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

• The happier a society is, the better
• The general happiness of a society is just the
  sum of the happiness of the people in it
• The more individual liberty allowed in a society,
  and the more tolerance practiced, the happier it
  will tend to be
• The only reason to limit an individuals liberty
  is to prevent harm to others

6
The Nineteenth Century Utopians

• Like the liberal utilitarians, they believed in
  the greatest good for the greatest number
• As means to this end they advocated
• social equality
• an education emphasizing mutual love, care, and
  concern
• the redistribution of property to benefit all
• voluntary work associations (cooperatives) meant
  to make work noncoercive and fulfilling

7
The Social and Political Philosophy of Karl Marx
(1818-1883)

• The ideal, classless society will inevitably
  arise from advanced capitalism due to an
  interplay between two contradictory forces
• In capitalism, the means of production are social
  but the social relations it gives rise to are
  based on private ownership of property
• Eventually, the result is increased alienation
  and exploitation of workers, until a violent
  revolution brings a transition to socialism