Comparing Aristotle's Notion Of Confidence To Modern Liberal Democracy

Aristotle in Politics, argues that a consitutional government, or Polity, functions as greater than just a fusion of the wealth of the rich and the freedom of the poor, it holds all future leadership and policy to the utmost standards of freedom, equality and virtue . In modern day, liberal democracies are prefaced on the same ancient principles – freedom and equality. And, it is within the internalization of these principles that true citizenship is born. An ideal liberal democratic citizen is unique in his/her commitments to his/her nation, fellow citizens and him/herself. Ultimately, these commitments are grounded in the concept of morality that, in turn, give sway to the development of an emotional disposition centered around positive emotions.

Through comparing Aristotle’s notion of confidence to modern liberal democracies, it is important for an individual in these regimes to have an emotional disposition that includes confidence. This differs from the mainstream definition of confidence that focuses on the self as it is not conducive to social cohesion and good morality. Rather, a confident disposition is necessary to uphold the principles laid out in any bill of rights or constitution. This is due to the fact that one’s confidence is relative to good government and the principles of liberty and equality that are characteristic of liberal democracies. Moreover, when analyzing leaders of liberal democracies, one can draw a stark duality between that of former American President Obama and current President, Donald Trump. The leadership in a liberal democratic nation, although citizens as well, are looked upon to uphold the principles of fairness and equality, and maintain the safety of his/her citizens. Furthermore, this duality presents itself when viewing the approval ratings of both presidents at the beginning of their terms: Obama had an approval rating of 67% on January 21, 2009 compared to Trump at 45% . Through this distinction, it can be argued that Aristotle’s conception of confidence – dreadful things being far off – is more synonymous with Obama than Trump. Conversely, the American populace’s historically low approval rating of President Trump demonstrates their confidence in the liberal democratic values of equality and protection for all. In situations where the majority of the populace has confidence in the nation’s actions and intentions, approval ratings increase. For example, after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden – the leader of terrorist group Al Qaeda – Obama’s approval ratings jumped from 44% on May 1,