Introduction
Developing and concretizing Paton’s doctrine, Aristotle in “Politics” puts a question on the status of the citizen. Who should be named as a citizen? The persons of a noble origin lay claim on honor in the state, freeborn and paying taxes first of all. Whether is the citizen those by the virtue of where they live? But also slaves and foreigners can live together with the citizens of other state. Those who have the right to be the claimant and the respondent are not citizens because foreigners use such right also.
Only in relative sense it is possible to name the under-aged children, free from duties as citizens. The aged people, passed age limit, also have been released in Athens from execution of civil duties.
Main body
The concept of the citizen can be defined, according to Aristotle, through a principle of participation in court and authority: “We consider as citizens those who participate in court and in national assembly” (Aristotle, b.III, p.65). This definition corresponds mainly to the citizen of the democratic state. At other kinds of a state system and the citizen should be other.
That citizen is the person who takes part in legislative and judicial authority of the state: “We also name the state set of such citizens, sufficient, generally speaking, for self-sufficing existence”(Aristotle, b.III, p. 65), – writes Aristotle, not dividing concepts of society and state. So, the access to the state post is the certificate of the civil rights. In practice the citizen is the person whose parents – both father, and mother are considered as citizens, instead of someone one of them.
Anticipating differentiation of human rights and the rights of citizen, issued in the corresponding Declaration of the period of the French revolution of the end of XVIII century, Aristotle is interested by a question – whether “the good person can be considered as the efficient citizen?” (Aristotle, b.III, P66) In fact the citizen is in the same attitude to the state, as seaman on a vessel – to other crew. The Safe sailing is the purpose for which seamen strive and each of them separately. The same is in relation to citizens. “Their problem consists in rescue of dialogue made by them, and this dialogue is the political system. Therefore and civil virtue is inevitably caused by this last “(Aristotle, b.III, p.66), – the author of “Politics” says, already planning the thin distinction between society – dialogue between citizens and society management of a political system. Supporting the political system, the virtuous citizen should possess ability perfectly both to dominate, and to submit. However virtue commanding cannot be peculiar to any citizen as Aristotle specifies. This civil virtue approaches only to those who are relieved of the works necessary for essential livelihood.
So, the citizen is the person who possesses the set of the civil rights. For example, the Athenian citizens had the following honorable rights: the right to borrow a position to be judges; to take part in elections of officials; the right to marry to Athens women; the right of possession of the immovable property; the right to make public sacrifices. In Athens the so-called welcome citizens did not use all set of the rights accepted in number of citizens by virtue of the certain act, i.e. the fulfilling of duties is a parameter of full citizenship. From noted above it is clear, that not any good person is the citizen, but ” the citizen only the one who is in the certain attitude to the state life who has or can have powers in business of care about state affairs or individually, or together with others “(Aristotle, b.III, p.67).
The citizens form the community because they have much in common, i.e. any measure is equal. The civil oath of Athenians was brought by usually young Athenians after achieving 18. Then Aristotle approaches definition of the state. The smallest parts of the whole state are family, and also colonies of families – settlements where the senior has been invested with authority of tsar. The family is considered as the friendly communication, natural by arisen for satisfaction of daily needs.
Conclusion
The person by the nature is a political essence as appears from the told, “and the state belongs to that exists by nature “(Aristotle, b.III, p.67). The satisfaction of needs does necessary dialogue between the person and a circle of family, and at the solving the general problems for settlement and the state.
References
Aristotle’s Politics translated by C.D.C Reeve, ISBN # 0-87220-388-3