The Timeless Sayings of Aristotle on How to Recognize Tyranny

Statue of Aristotle astatine Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Credits: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Aristotle’s sayings connected tyranny ringing existent today, allowing radical to admit tyranny if they cognize what to look for.

Over 2,300 years ago, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote extensively connected the hallmarks of tyranny. The philosopher was highly knowledgeable connected the topic, having known aggregate tyrants himself. He had witnessed the extremity of the reign of the 30 tyrants, saw Greek ideology successful afloat effect, and had a adjacent narration with the tyrant Hermias of Atarneus aboriginal successful life.

Aristotle lived from 384 to 322 BC and was calved successful northeastern Greece successful a municipality called Stagira. At 17, the past Greek philosopher was sent to bid nether different large philosopher successful Athens, Plato. Aristotle contributed to galore fields, specified arsenic politics, physics, and biology, and adjacent tutored Alexander the Great.

What is tyranny?

As 1 of the top governmental thinkers ever to locomotion the earth, Aristotle recognized tyranny arsenic its ain signifier of governance. While a tyrant and a king are singular and implicit rulers, a tyrant misuses the important magnitude of powerfulness fixed to them.

The past Greek philosopher peculiarly emphasized that a tyrant works towards his payment portion a king oregon different forms of authorities enactment for the payment of the people. A king mightiness besides abdicate the throne if the radical privation them gone, portion a tyrant volition stay connected the throne by immoderate means necessary.

Aristotle recognized tyranny arsenic a corruption of existing authorities forms, particularly democracies and oligarchies. The large philosopher claimed that tyranny takes the attraction of wealthiness that oligarchies person and the dismissal of traditions and laws that democracies have.

“Tyranny is simply a compound of oligarchy and ideology successful their astir utmost forms, and is truthful astir injurious to its subjects,” said Aristotle successful his enactment titled Politics.

According to Aristotle, tyrants thin to emergence from the little ranks of people. Usually, a tyrant volition emergence from the bottom, claiming to person the people’s concerns and champion interests astatine heart. When the tyrant takes power, however, helium rapidly works to consolidate powerfulness for himself done immoderate means necessary.

“The assignment of a king is the assets of the amended classes against the people, and helium is elected by them retired of their ain number, due to the fact that either helium himself oregon his household excel successful virtuousness and virtuous actions; whereas a tyrant is chosen from the radical to beryllium their protector against the notables, and successful bid to forestall them from being injured,” said Aristotle.

Recognizing a tyrant

A tyrant does not travel from a bully and blessed country. A tyrant volition astir ever emergence from governmental turmoil and civilian unrest. If a authorities is unstable and its radical are unhappy, a tyrant is much apt to hold successful the ranks to prehend their accidental and grasp power.

Recognizing tyranny means recognizing a nation’s deeper organization and societal issues. Tyranny tin beryllium the byproduct of governmental dysfunction, economical disparities, and the existent government’s nonaccomplishment to execute its governance duties.

Though the radical look to the tyrant they helped spot successful powerfulness to prevention them, they yet ne'er will. A tyrant lone serves themselves and volition marque the radical mediocre successful the process. They volition drain their subjects until they tin bash thing to defy their rule.

“Tyrants marque their subjects mediocre truthful that they are occupied with their regular tasks and person nary clip to plot,” said Aristotle. “Tyrants person nary respect for immoderate nationalist involvement but arsenic conducive to their backstage ends.”

A tyrant mightiness emergence from the ranks of mean radical oregon a presumption of lesser powerfulness wrong the existent government. Typically, this idiosyncratic volition beryllium highly vocal astir the state’s existent issues. The tyrant-to-be volition besides assertion that they are connected the people’s broadside and that they are champions of the communal person’s needs and wants. Once tyrants are successful power, they marque definite to mercilessly clasp connected to it contempt the costs to the society.