Aristotle’s View on Wealth Acquisition
Politics June 29th, 2007Aristotle’s Politics, despite or perhaps for his flaws, is quite a gem to read. Aristotle views nature as providing essentially everything that man needs for the management of the household (family). Wealth acquisition to supply the needs of the household is limited. Wealth acquisition through commerce is unnatural because it is unlimited. What struck me particularly was the following passage in which Aristotle enumerates some of the natural forms of acquisition:
The different ways of life (at any rate if we take into account only those who follow an occupation dependent on their own labours, and do not provide themselves with subsistence [at the expense of others] by exchange and petty trade) may be roughly classified as five – the pastoral, the farming, the freebooting, the fishing, and the life of the chase. (1256a – 1256b §8)
Notice here that Aristotle sneeks in freebooting, another word for piracy. He deems it to be more natural as opposed to exchange and petty trade! Now, here is an even more striking passage:
It also follows that the art of war [that is to say, so far as it is directed to gaining means of subsistence from animals] a natural mode of acquisition. Hunting is a part of that art; and hunting ought to be practiced – not only against wild animals, but also against human beings who are intended by nature to be ruled by others and refuse to obey that intention – because war of this order is always just. (1256b §12)
Aristotle views thievery and slavery as more natural forms of the acquisition of wealth than commerce. He thinks that nature does nothing in vain and that it will provide man with what he needs to be self-sufficient. Incidentally, he also sneers at technology. His stance is certainly opposed to other thinkers, including Rand, who view nature as something man can shape and command to his advantage. Aristotle does not seem to be in favor of that. And he certainly does not think that no limit on wealth creation, which is what commerce facilitates, is natural or necessarily a good thing. In fact, he dislikes commerce insofar as it can lead men to think that wealth is unlimited and to seek accumulating it for its own sake, which would be unnecessary and unnatural if men’s self-sufficiency is the goal.
Should we file Aristotle’s opinion on wealth acquisition and commerce under minor errors on his part?
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:58 am
You compare his comments to commerce and petty trade, but never give any evidence of what his opinions on the subject of trade are. Your statements sound weak without that.
In the first quote, I believe he is discussing the means of producing wealth. Commerce doesn’t actually produce any value, it’s just a system for distributing it, exchanging one form of wealth for another based on an agreement of exchange rates. Profit is only made from commerce by taking advantages of differing exchange rates between regions or time periods.
Aristotle took slavery for granted because he lived in a time when it was a normal part of societal structure, just as commerce has become a normal part of ours. Perhaps by trying to understand the flaw in his assumption that slavery was an integral part of wealth, you can understand your own assumption that commerce is.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
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