Aristotle doesn't merely have the history of being called the best disciple of Plato or the tutor of Alexander the Great. In Political Science, Aristotle holds a huge value. Even scholars like Whitehead have said: "The entire Western Political Thought is nothing but the footnotes to Plato and Aristotle." This statement clearly indicates what it means to consider the words of Aristotle. Laying the foundations of Political Science by showing it as Master of All Arts, Aristotle provided a scientific outlook to see society and man as a political animal. However, it will not be easy to digest this part that though having that scientific mindset, Aristotle took a different concept for family and citizenship. This ideology completely has no relation with what he talked about distributive and corrective justice.

Aristotle on Family

When it comes to family, Aristotle believes that a family is a primary unit of social life. Aristotle strongly criticizes Plato for him being a communist on this part. For Aristotle, Plato's idea can take everyone to a barbaric age when each mad had to fend for his survival. Aristotle's aggression comes out when he felt that taking one's family away is the worst measure that a state can take. According to him, a family is no less than a primary school where a child gets lessons on tolerance, love, sacrifice, and cooperation. Hence, for Aristotle, a family is that unit that works as a bridge to connect an individual to society. If a man is a social animal which he is, the family becomes the extension of man's nature; the village is the extension of families, and the state, an extension, and union of families and villages.

Citizenship of the Country

When it comes to the citizenship of the country, Aristotle calls for duties. Aristotle determines two factors to hand over citizenship to the people - birth and blood. Hence, he excludes women, children, old people, and slaves from citizenship. However, Aristotle provided reasons that why he is excluding them on the grounds of duties. For him, since women are confined to household work and are inferior to men, he denied citizenship. Considering the age of the old people and children, it is quite sure that they won't perform duties. Therefore, Aristotle gave a clear NO. But for slaves a different turn as they are not rational to handle legislative functions. It is somewhere again where one can see an oxymoron quotient in Aristotle because Aristotle only wants to come up with equal emphasis on rights, apart from duties as laid down by Plato on his Theory of Justice.

Man is Everything

On citizenship and the family front, Aristotle keeps the man above everything. For him, Man is superior to woman, wiser than a slave, and more experienced than the children. Hence, Aristotle's ideologies on these two fronts showcase that he needs a patriarchal society. Aristotle keeps the distributive justice end while totally ignoring the tenets of his corrective justice. It is quite distinct again when it comes to comparison with Plato, who gave equal importance on the education front. 

Final Remarks

It seems like Aristotle's line: "When perfected, man is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all" doesn't apply to the front of citizenship and family. Or, maybe Aristotle showcased a different view on these domains with his ideologies. One cannot deny that Aristotle, with his inductive approach, tried to pitch a better society that can be formed in a real sense on the grounds of the rule of law instead of having a philosopher-king.