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„Aristotle thought that the life of tradesmen and mechanics was ‘ignoble and inimical to virtue’. He rather approved of the way that Thebes disqualified busines
by amai 1y ago
„Aristotle thought that the life of tradesmen and mechanics was ‘ignoble and inimical to virtue’. He rather approved of the way that Thebes disqualified business types from public office until they had been retired for ten years.“
That would be a great law against lobbyism and revolving doors politics.
- thrance 1y agoAs always, take the translation with a grain of salt. "Virtue" to aristotle has a completely different meaning than the one we're used to: respect your place in the natural order. Mertitocracy was an alien concept to him, and he would find it most "unvirtuous".
- grafmax 1y agoAncient Babylon and other parts of the ancient world would regularly cancel non-commercial debts - effectively a wealth transfer from the wealthy to the workers, preventing the rise of an oligarchic class. However, once an oligarchy is in place, it’s counter to its interests to its relinquish control of the political process - the day it chooses to relinquish power for the common good never comes.