What Role Does Government Play In Human Happiness

19 Pages 4652 Words

itarianism because it allows for the few people who have the ability to be in power lead the country, while the other people are ruled by them in a less dictatorial sense.
Aristotle believes that man can only be happy when living in a political association with others. He states, “man is by nature a political animal” (Aristotle, Book 1.2, 1253a2). Man cannot exist outside a political association, therefore it follows that man cannot be happy outside a political association. It is in his own nature that he be governed, or be governing. Only as part of a city can man fully realize his nature; separated from the city he is as bad as the animals. One can see that man is naturally political in that every structure for man is political. The basic unit of any political association is the household. The man of the house is in charge of all the members of the family, such as the wife and children. The political association then progresses from the family to the village. The village is created because a couple of families band together in order to protect themselves from their surroundings. From there the society progresses into a city. A city happens when villages band together against other villages in order to protect the members of the villages. These associations are formed with the aim of achieving some good. The political association is the most sovereign form, and this aims at the highest good. The next step, after determining that men need political association in order to attain happiness, is determining the type of association that will make them the happiest.
Aristotle believes that “just as some are by nature free, so others are by nature slaves” (Aristotle, 1.6, 1254b39). Aristotle strongly views that not all men are naturally equal. Some men are born to be free, and others are born to be enslaved. Aristotle can conclude this because of what he views in other relations. Aristotle can clearly see that th...