Aristotle Quotes About Property

• Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.

  Aristotle

  Freedom, Philosophical, Men

  Aristotle, Stephen Everson (1996). “Aristotle: The Politics and the Constitution of Athens”, p.72, Cambridge University Press

• Property should be in a certain sense common, but, as a general rule, private; for, when every one has a distinct interest, men will not complain of one another, and they will make more progress, because every one will be attending to his own business.

  Aristotle

  Men, Progress, Complaining

  Aristotle, (2014). “Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation”, p.2004, Princeton University Press

• A democracy is a government in the hands of men of low birth, no property, and vulgar employments.

  Aristotle

  Men, Hands, Democracy

• If the poor, for example, because they are more in number, divide among themselves the property of the rich,- is not this unjust? . . this law of confiscation clearly cannot be just.

  Aristotle

  Numbers, Government, Law

  Catholic Way Publishing, Aristotle, Plato (2015). “The Philosophy Collection [97 Books]”, p.4626, Catholic Way Publishing

• Now property is part of a household, and the acquisition of property part of household-management; for neither life itself nor the good life is possible without a certain minimum supply of the necessities.

  Aristotle

  Wisdom, Good Life, Acquisition

• If they do not share equally enjoyments and toils, those who labor much and get little will necessarily complain of those who labor little and receive or consume much. But indeed there is always a difficulty in men living together and having all human relations in common, but especially in their having common property.

  Aristotle

  Men, Together, Toil

  Aristotle (2013). “The Essential Aristotle”, p.249, Simon and Schuster

• That the equalization of property exercises an influence on political society was clearly understood even by some of the old legislators. Laws were made by Solon and others prohibiting an individual from possessing as much land as he pleased.

  Aristotle

  Exercise, Law, Land

  Aristotle (2016). “Politics”, p.56, Aristotle

• It is not the possessions but the desires of mankind which require to be equalized.

  Aristotle

  Desire, Mankind, Possession

  Aristotle (2016). “Politics”, p.57, Aristotle

• To let them share in the highest offices is to take a risk; inevitably, their unjust standards will cause them to commit injustice, and their lack of judgement will lead them into error. On the other hand there is a risk in not giving them a share, and in their non participation, for when there are many who have no property and no honours they inevitably constitute a huge hostile element in the state. But it can still remain open to them to participate in deliberating and judging.

  Aristotle

  Hands, Errors, Giving

• Metaphysics is universal and is exclusively concerned with primary substance. ... And here we will have the science to study that which is, both in its essence and in the properties which it has.

  Aristotle

  Essence, Substance, Study

• ... a science must deal with a subject and its properties.

  Aristotle

  Words Of Wisdom, Deals, Subjects

• Property should be in a general sense common, but as a general rule private... In well-ordered states, although every man has his own property, some things he will place at the disposal of his friends, while of others he shares the use of them.

  Aristotle

  Wisdom, Men, Use

• Tools may be animate as well as inanimate; for instance, a ship's captain uses a lifeless rudder, but a living man for watch; for a servant is, from the point of view of his craft, categorized as one of its tools. So any piece of property can be regarded as a tool enabling a man to live, and his property is an assemblage of such tools; a slave is a sort of living piece of property; and like any other servant is a tool in charge of other tools.

  Aristotle

  Men, Views, Watches

• We must speak first about the division of land and about those who cultivate it: who should they be and what kind of person? We do not agree with those who have said that property should be communally owned, but we do believe that there should be a friendly arrangement for its common use, and that none of the citizens should be without means of support.

  Aristotle

  Wisdom, Believe, Mean

• It is clearly better that property should be private, but the use of it common; and the special business of the legislator is to create in men this benevolent disposition.

  Aristotle

  Men, Special, Use

  Aristotle (2016). “Politics”, p.49, Aristotle

• The beginning of reform is not so much to equalize property as to train the noble sort of natures not to desire more, and to prevent the lower from getting more.

  Aristotle

  Nature, Equality, Desire

  Aristotle (2016). “Politics”, p.58, Aristotle

• One would have thought that it was even more necessary to limit population than property; and that the limit should be fixed by calculating the chances of mortality in the children, and of sterility in married persons. The neglect of this subject, which in existing states is so common, is a never-failing cause of poverty among the citizens; and poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

  Aristotle

  Children, Parent, Citizens

  Aristotle, (2014). “Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation”, p.2008, Princeton University Press

• Great is the good fortune of a state in which the citizens have a moderate and sufficient property.

  Aristotle

  Citizens, States, Fortune

  Aristotle (2016). “Politics”, p.144, Aristotle

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