13-Mar-2003

Grand Prize:

Stephanie McCullough, St. John's College in Santa Fe Book: The Politics Author: Aristotle ISBN: 0226026698 The value of a book lies not only in the ideas it presents but in what it demands of its reader. Aristotle's Politics makes a careful, rational inquiry into that human association known as a state: how it should be structured, what its aim should be, and what is required of its virtuous citizen. A political leader--one whose care should be the interests of the order he upholds--may turn to Aristotle's work to help him determine his duty. A statesman cannot act efficiently without a clear idea of how and to what end a government should function. Before he can decide in material terms of how to dispose of revenue, relate to other states, or whether to levy a tax, he must understand all the underlying issues. The Politics holds the achievement of this understanding as its aim. Aristotle begins with the simple position that every state exists to pursue some good purpose and the question of what sort of state would best serve this. He goes forward to ask specific, component questions, such as what a just law is, what social arrangements promote national solidarity, and what the qualities of virtuous citizens and statesmen are. Aristotle's method of inquiry is to examine existing models, whether theories proposed in other writings such as Plato's Republic or examples drawn from reality, and determine whether or not the model will promote the "good life" he has defined. Throughout the Politics, Aristotle extracts essential generalizations from specific problems and then proceeds to ask what solutions match these essentials. He uses logical analogies to illuminate his reasoning, such as comparing the advantages of drawing upon the virtues of a large group to the superiority of a feast contributed to by many rather than provided, at a strain, by one. No modern statesman could fail to benefit from following this investigation, even if he disagrees with all of Aristotle's conclusions. The practice of seeking and defining the component issues of a problem is useful to everyone. In reading the Politics, if one wishes to disagree with any statement one is forced to examine the grounds on which one does so simply because Aristotle's reasoning is so thorough. Further, the combination of observation and theory in the book encourages the reader to apply the same analysis to the real situations touching him while keeping constantly in mind the fundamental purpose of politics. The proudest aim of Aristotle's Politics is to discover, through rational process, the ideal system of government. Anyone who wishes to be a political leader ought to take such a journey. Some may posit that this pursuit of an ideal, which is surely unattainable, is useless, but whether or not the ideal can be attained is of no consequence to a statesman. What may be accomplished with an ideal fixed firmly in mind, on the other hand, should always be foremost.