Plato’s and Aristotle’s Socio-Political Views in the Context of Modern Conceptions on Political Corruption Nature
Vezlomtsev Viktor Evgenievich
Academy of Law and Management of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia
Submitted: 11.03.2021
Abstract. The paper aims to reveal discrepancy of two basic approaches to defining corruption - contextualism and moralism. The study is based on comparing the ancient Greek philosophers’ views on corruption. The article analyses philosophical systems of Ancient Greece taking into account modern understanding of corruption. Scientific originality of the research involves justifying the thesis that in the ancient Greek thinkers’ works, any political regime is apriori considered corrupt, and supremacy of law is considered not as non-corruption in the government but as a practical means to prevent corrupt behaviour of power holders responsible for making national-scale decisions. As a result, the researcher concludes that the ancient Greek philosophers’ views are not in tune with moral absolutism, the prevailing tone of modern discussions on corruption.
Key words and phrases: политическая коррупция, мораль, Античность, Платон, Аристотель, political corruption, morality, Antiquity, Plato, Aristotle
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