Democracy and Equality Comparing Aristotle's Ideals to Modern Ideas

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Does equality today carry the same meaning in government today as it did fifty years ago, during the wirting of the United States Constitution, or even during Aristotle's lifetime? Because of this question one must define equality rather than compare its definition to the concepts of equality in government during specfic time periods in history. Aristotle would have a different image of what makes equality in a democratic government. Aristotle's views of democracy and equality should not be compared to the modern day views of equality and their importance in democracy and other forms of government. Aristotle lived in a time and place where equality did not seem to have the same definition that we use today when talking about equality in government. During the time of Aristotle to be even considered to have a say in even a democratic government one could not be a slave as well as being limited to land owning men. Meaning the view of equality in the government would have only been limited to those which would have had the right to participate in the government. This would rule out a large amount of the population of the cities during Aristotle's time, and would have made a limited view of what would have made for equal participation in a democratic form of government. This can be seen when Aristotle says "he who has the required amount of property has a share in the government."(Aristotle 66). While Aristotle may be only refering to one form of democracy, it is clear that this type of thought was common, and was how political power was often gauged during this time. The ways in which equality was thought of in a democratic government where not based on the standard definition of equality which people are used to hearing in modern society. What is seen when reffering to the limited participation in government in Aristotle's time is his definition of equality in

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