Legittimazione del potere e polemica antiplatonica in Aristotele, Politica V 12, 1316a 39 – b 6. Una nota

In Pol. V 12, 1316a 39-b 6, Aristotle contradicts Plato by stating that the decisive factor in determining the constitutional upheaval in the oligarchic sense is the legitimation of a new idea of justice (and hence equality) based on the valorisation of wealth. According to Aristotle, the limit of the Platonic view expressed in Socrates’ speech in the Republic was that it failed to consider that the transition to the oligarchy comes about when the powers that be have made wealth coincide with a new idea of justice and honor.