Aristotle Private Property Quotes & Sayings

It is clearly better that property should be private, but the use of it common; and the special business of the legislator is to create in men this benevolent disposition. — Aristotle.

Property should be in a certain sense common, but, as a general rule, private; for, when every one has a distinct interest, men will not complain of one another, and they will make more progress, because every one will be attending to his own business. — Aristotle.

Such [communistic] legislation may have a specious appearance of benevolence; men readily listen to it, and are easily induced to believe that in some wonderful manner everybody will become everybody's friend, especially when some one is heard denouncing the evils now existing in states, suits about contracts, convictions for perjury, flatteries of rich men and the like, which are said to arise out of the possession of private property. These evils, however, are due to a very different cause - the wickedness of human nature. Indeed, we see that there is much more quarrelling among those who have all things in common, though there are not many of them when compared with the vast numbers who have private property. — Aristotle.

Property should be in a general sense common, but as a general rule private ... In well-ordered states, although every man has his own property, some things he will place at the disposal of his friends, while of others he shares the use of them. — Aristotle.