The Complete Aristotle (eng.)

ought to be
supreme over all, and the magistracies should judge of particulars,
and only this should be considered a constitution. So that if
democracy be a real form of government, the sort of system in which
all things are regulated by decrees is clearly not even a democracy
in the true sense of the word, for decrees relate only to
particulars.
    These then are the different kinds of democracy.
V
    Of oligarchies, too, there are different kinds: one where the
property qualification for office is such that the poor, although
they form the majority, have no share in the government, yet he who
acquires a qualification may obtain a share. Another sort is when
there is a qualification for office, but a high one, and the
vacancies in the governing body are fired by co-optation. If the
election is made out of all the qualified persons, a constitution
of this kind inclines to an aristocracy, if out of a privileged
class, to an oligarchy. Another sort of oligarchy is when the son
succeeds the father. There is a fourth form, likewise hereditary,
in which the magistrates are supreme and not the law. Among
oligarchies this is what tyranny is among monarchies, and the
last-mentioned form of democracy among democracies; and in fact
this sort of oligarchy receives the name of a dynasty (or rule of
powerful families).
    These are the different sorts of oligarchies and democracies. It
should, however, be remembered that in many states the constitution
which is established by law, although not democratic, owing to the
education and habits of the people may be administered
democratically, and conversely in other states the established
constitution may incline to democracy, but may be administered in
an oligarchical spirit. This most often happens after a revolution:
for governments do not change at once; at first the dominant party
are content with encroaching a little upon their opponents. The
laws which existed previously continue in force, but the authors of
the revolution have the power in their hands.
VI
    From what has been already said we may safely infer that there
are so many different kinds of democracies and of oligarchies. For
it is evident that either all the classes whom we mentioned must
share in the government, or some only and not others. When the
class of husbandmen and of those who possess moderate fortunes have
the supreme power, the government is administered according to law.
For the citizens being compelled to live by their labor have no
leisure; and so they set up the authority of the law, and attend
assemblies only when necessary. They all obtain a share in the
government when they have acquired the qualification which is fixed
by the law—the absolute exclusion of any class would be a step
towards oligarchy; hence all who have acquired the property
qualification are admitted to a share in the constitution. But
leisure cannot be provided for them unless there are revenues to
support them. This is one sort of democracy, and these are the
causes which give birth to it. Another kind is based on the
distinction which naturally comes next in order; in this, every one
to whose birth there is no objection is eligible, but actually
shares in the government only if he can find leisure. Hence in such
a democracy the supreme power is vested in the laws, because the
state has no means of paying the citizens. A third kind is when all
freemen have a right to share in the government, but do not
actually share, for the reason which has been already given; so
that in this form again the law must rule. A fourth kind of
democracy is that which comes latest in the history of states. In
our own day, when cities have far outgrown their original size, and
their revenues have increased, all the citizens have a place in the
government, through the great preponderance of the multitude; and
they all, including the poor who receive pay, and therefore have
leisure to exercise their rights, share in the administration.
Indeed, when they are paid, the common people have the most
leisure, for they are not hindered by the care of their property,
which often fetters the rich, who are thereby prevented from taking
part in the assembly or in the courts, and so the state is governed
by the poor, who are a majority, and not by the laws.
    So many kinds of democracies there are, and they grow out of
these necessary causes.
    Of oligarchies, one form is that in which the majority of the
citizens have some property, but not very much; and this is