![]() Finally, I consider the implication of this assessment for Aristotle’s critique of Athenian democracy. Aristotle believes that a democracy is a corrupt form of government because it is built upon the belief of majority rule. I then reflect on whether Aristotle would have arrived at similar conclusions about these practices if he had been acquainted with the basic principles of microeconomics. Since his argument ultimately rests on his theory of moral virtue, I set forth the basic principles of Aristotle’s theory of virtue and consider how he applies them to common commercial practices. In this essay I examine and evaluate Aristotle’s indictment of commercial democracy. ![]() Consequently, the democracies in which the mercantile class is prominent are especially unjust, corrupt, and unstable. Aristotle holds that a state is a composite whole made up of parts he also defines the state as an aggregate of citizens large enough to secure a self-sufficient life a further definition suggests that the state is an association of citizens in a constitution (III, i-iii). For occupations such as commerce and banking are inherently vicious. Democracy takes different forms, but among the worst, he contends, is one like the Athenian democracy which numbers merchants among the citizens. ![]() ![]() Democracy, as he understands it is, is not merely rule by the many but rule by a multitude lacking in virtue. ![]() Aristotle includes democracy among the deviant constitutions. ![]()
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