Paper Summary:

This paper examines Aristotle's views on politics as compared to Plato's. The author uses Aristotle's work, "Politics" as the basis for this discussion. Quotes are used throughout the paper to exemplify Aristotle's outlook on various philosophical ideas. In particular, his view on the city as opposed to Plato's are contrasted. The author also describes Aristotle's opinion on Greek customs of the past and those practiced in his own day.

From the Paper:

"Clarence Earl Gideon was tried and convicted in the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, in and for Bay County, for the "crime of breaking and entering with the intent to commit a misdemeanor, to wit, petty larceny," and was given a five year prison sentence. In trial court, Gideon maintained that he was entitled to counsel by the state because he couldn't afford his own. In essence, Gideon was asserting that his conviction violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states "No state shall...deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The key here being "due process of law." Without the aid and guidance of counsel was Gideon given a fair opportunity to defend himself, and were his due process guarantees were violated? The case on which the Supreme Court ruled on this exact issue was Betts v. Brady, in which they rejected the contention that due process under the Fourteenth Amendment provided a flat guarantee of counsel in state criminal trials (8). "But that did not necessarily make Gideon's petition futile, for the Supreme court never speaks with absolute finality when it interprets the Constitution," and "although he did not know it, Clarence Earl Gideon was calling for one of those great occasions in legal history...by asking the Supreme Court to change its mind" (11)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Aristotle, Politics (Oxford World's Classics). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

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