Preview
  • Politics

  • By: Aristotle
  • Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
  • Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (79 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Politics

By: Aristotle
Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.13

Buy for $22.13

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The title Politics literally means ‘the things concerning the city’. Here, Aristotle considers the important role that politics plays in the life of the community and its contribution to harmonious and virtuous existence.

It is divided into eight books and was a cornerstone in political philosophy for centuries despite certain features - including attitudes towards slaves and women - clearly placing its conclusions and advice within the confines of Athenian society of the fourth century BCE. Aristotle’s fundamental view is that the individual needs the city more than the city needs the individual, not least because a well-ordered city-state offers obvious benefits beyond simply self-protection and commerce. It makes possible a broader life, allowing in addition education and leisure, leading its citizens towards a life of virtue.

In book two, Aristotle considers the best regime for the city, looking at the three main forms of his time - democracy, oligarchy/aristocracy and monarchy. He considers the qualification to be a citizen and participate in the political process - offering a wider view than Plato, for example.

Revolution, change, constitutional developments, insurrections - these issues of instability are discussed with references to specific examples. And in later books he proposes the conditions for the best state, the ideal state, ‘for a state is not a community of living beings only, but a community of equals, aiming at the best life possible’.

Aristotle’s Politics is a seminal text and is read here by Andrew Cullum with clarity and purpose. Translation: Benjamin Jowett.

Public Domain (P)2019 Ukemi Productions Ltd
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Politics

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    49
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Genius

Incisive dialect and rhetoric then and now. Voice actor: Superb. Books in easy to access numbered chapters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Ok book

I think it serves as a good reminder about some of the forces of nature we face in modern time, particularly in respect to government and evil. Book was a bit of a grind to get through. Disjoined at times leading to the theory that this is a collection of writings / works. I have respect for the wisdom of old.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I suspect a poor translation

Slogging through 11 hours of classic text has no function aside from abstract historical context. I mean this in a way that a reference to a given work can be used as an expression of information and possibly debated. Unfortunately, this audiobook feels like a game of telephone. While not modern, it is partially contemporary, partially antiquated and all grammatically identifiable. This is unfortunate as I would have picked up the rest of this series had it not felt like an English interpretation of a French version of an Italian translation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful