Comparison of Plato’s Political Philosophy with Aristotle’s Political Philosophy

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify the similarities and differences between the political philosophy of Plato and political philosophy of Aristotle. Such comparative study is very important for political thought in general. The main significance of this paper is the precise meaning of the political philosophy of Plato and political philosophy of Aristotle, as well as the meaning of differences and similarities. Often, Plato’s political ideas appear as Aristotle political ideas, and Aristotle’s political ideas appear as Plato’s political ideas. The main method of study in this paper is the comparison method. The ancient political debate between Plato and Aristotle is important to modern political philosophy as it is the basis of modern political theories. The data for paper are taken from the books of these two authors. The political philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, although they have similarities in some points, but differ in many other issues, such as: different categories of political analysis, different methodologies of policy study, and different reasons for state creation, different opinions why democracy is a bad form of government and why aristocracy is the right form.