Aristotle argues, possessions enable men to rise to a higher ethical level by giving them the opportunity to… — Richard Pipes
Aristotle argues, possessions enable men to rise to a higher ethical level by giving them the opportunity to be generous: ‘liberality consists in the use which is made of property’—an argument which would greatly appeal to Christian theologians of the Middle Ages. Aristotle’s preferred regime was one founded on a middle class, with an equitable distribution of assets.
p. 8Source: Wikiquote · CC BY-SA 4.0
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