The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-12-01
The Rule Of q Few.

Aristotle, alter enumerating
the governments which he calls
! governments in the general in
terests, monarchy and the re-
public, treats Of governments
in the interest of individuals,
tyranny-oligarcy. Ologarchy,
says Aristotle, is the political
predominance of the rich, and
democracy the political pre-
dominance of the poor, TO the
exclusion of the rich. To the
objection, "But what if the
rich be more numerous and
govern, or il the poor be the
less numerous and govern I"
He replied that the rule of the
minority in the democracies,
and that of the majority in oil
garchies are wholly accidental,
because the rich everywhere
constitute the minority, and
the poor everywhere the ma
iority.
1.-TWO parties" continued the
impartial Aristotle, "claim ex-
clusively, each for itself, the
right to make the law, and in
deed this right belongs to both
of them up to a certain point,
but this right is not absolute
in the one or the other. On
the one hand, superior in a
single point, in wealth, for in
stance, they think themselves
superior in all; on the other
hand, equal in one point, lib
erty, for instance, they think
themselves absolutely equal;
the main object is forgotten on
both sides. If political asso-
citation was a commercial asso.
citation for the purpose of gain,
the share of the association in
the State would be in direct
proportion to their investment,
and the partisans of oligarchy
would be in the right; but the
object of political association
is not only the existence of the
associated, but their happiness,
the well being Of families and
of the different classes of the
people. Those who bring the
most (by their TALENT to the
general fund Of the association
have a greater share in the
State than those who, equal or
superior in point of liberty or
birth, have, Notwithstanding,
less political virtue; a greater
share than those, superior in
wealth, are inferior in merit" P"
To whom, then, should SOW
ereignty belong? To the null
titude, to the wealthy, to the
good, to a single individual of
superior talents, to a tyrant!
"Neither to these nor to
Others says Aristotle, "but
to the law" and if one of the
elements of the political body
must be preferred, Aristotle
would incline in favor OF the
multitude, for the reason that,
if each individual errs in judg-
ment, in the aggregate all judge
well. But the government
which seems to him to best as
sure the reign of the law is the
republic, which borrows its
principles from oligarchy and
democracy. If he had been
asked how the Alliance of these
two governments, which he
calls corrupt, could give birth
to the best of all governments,
that they were only bad be-
cause they were exclusive, and
that political wisdom should be
the reconciliation of these two
elements. Oligarchies may
maintain themselves by minis
tering to the material well-do-
ing of the people. But as ava
rice is the vice peculiar to oil
garchies, their government, to-
gether with tyranny, is the
; least stable of all. The rivalry
of the powerful, their niscon-
duct. their acts of violence,
, the creation Of another oil
garchy in the bosom of the
! first, the ambition of some who
began to fiatter the people, the
influence of mercenary troops
all these are SO many causes OF
, ruin. Lastly, that which in
jures them most is, -''that they
. deceive the lower classes"
The above is extracted from