Pros And Cons Of Living Under The Constitution

In book VII chapter I, right out of the gate, we see a very broad statement “Those who live under the constitution that is best for those in their circumstances will have the best way of life.” (pg 251) In essence this points that the circumstances of people must arise before the constitution does. Meaning also that a constitution must promote the happiness of the majority, for the majority must come up with the constitution lest more than fifty percent of the people fall into dissent. In theory, if this is the case, then the forming of the constitution must be the final product of a city, people must already have found what makes them happy and/or the life they desire, are agreement therein, and decided on a constitution that is

On the side of politics we see that to be happy, one must “do well” literally and one has to take an active role and participate in the government. And those who adhere to this view hold that by sticking to philosophy, one by nature prevents themselves from, and denies themselves the opportunity to play an active role in the city. If indeed “happiness is a state of activity”(pg258) and goodness and wisdom are key aspects to happiness, then the argument can be formed that actively participating in politics and applying the principles of being good and wise to that, then happiness can be achieved. Especially if it is indeed true that “…the happiness of the city is the same as that of the individual…”(pg260) That deals with action vs. inaction on the individual level, however, there is another part to that argument and that is whether or not a city should actively participate in the affairs of those around them, or should they stick to themselves. Working under the assumption that in either case, people will be participating in politics, be it in a rotation, or however it is set up, what is best for a city? And is that the same as the best for the individual? The previous quote and argument would seem to indicate that they would have to be the same in order to achieve happiness in the city, and that would mean that the city would have to participate in the affairs of those around them. If that were the case, then this city would be forced to factor in things such as military, be it for defense or