Timocracy
idea · 2 works · 2 mentions · 3 anchored passages
Republic · Spartan constitution · constitutional government · the Laconian constitution · timarchy · timocracy · timocratic constitution
in the texts
Nicomachean Ethics
A constitution based on a property qualification, treated as the worst of the good constitutions and the household analogue of the fraternal relationship.
The relation between brothers constitutes a sort of timocracy;
since the ideal of Timocracy is that all citizens shall be equal and shall be good, so that they all rule in turn, and all have an equal share of power;
The inferiority of Tyranny among the perversions is more evident than that of Timocracy among the constitutions, for the opposite of the best must be the worst.
Republic
The constitution based on love of honor and military prowess, identified with the Spartan/Cretan model, arising from the corruption of the guardian class.
Shall we, then, as we began by examining moral qualities in states before individuals, as being more manifest there, so now consider first the constitution based on the love of honor?
and to slaves such a one would be harsh, not scorning them as the really educated do, but he would be gentle with the freeborn and very submissive to officials, a lover of office and of honor, not basing his claim to office on ability to speak or anything of that sort but on his exploits in war or preparation for war, and he would be a devotee of gymnastics and hunting.
Such, then, would be the origin and nature of this polity if we may merely outline the figure of a constitution in words and not elaborate it precisely, since even the sketch will suffice to show us the most just and the most unjust type of man, and it would be an impracticable task to set forth all forms of government without omitting any, and all customs and qualities of men.