Aristotle classified governments according to the seat of supreme power, and he has been generally followed down to very recent times. Accordingly, we had Monarchy, that government in which the supreme power is vested in one man, to which was added, at a later pdlod, the idea of hereditarincss. Aristocracy, the government in which the supreme power is vested in the aparrot, which does not mean, in this case, the best, but the excelling ones, the prominent, i. e. by property and influence. Privi lege Is its characteristic, Its corresponding degen erate government is the Oligarchy (from lairc, little, few), that government in which supreme power is exercised by a few privileged ones, who generally have arrogated the power. Democracy, that government in which supreme power is vested in the people at large. Equality is one of its char.
acteristics. Its degenerate correspondent is the Ochlocracy (from 6 xaor, the rabble), for which at present the barbarous term mobocracy Is frequent ly used.
But this classification was insufficient even at the time of Aristotle, when, for instance, theocracies existed ; nor is the eeat of supreme power the only characteristic, nor, in all respects, by any means the chief characteristic. A royal government, for
instance, may be lese absolute than a republican government. In order to group together the govern ments and political societies which have existed and are still existing, with philosophical discrimination, we must pay attention to the chief-power-holder (whether he be one or whether there are many), to the pervading spirit of the administration or wield ing of the power, to the characteristics of the so ciety or the influencing interests of the same, to the limitation or entirety of public power, to the pecu liar relations of the citizen to the state. Indeed, ev ery principle, relation, or condition characteristi cally influencing or shaping society or government in particular may furnish us with a proper divi sion. We propose, then, the following