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Aristotle on what is held in common

c. 335–322 BCE, Athens (Lyceum). His own words, in the Politics.

Where and when

c. 335–322 BCEAthens (Lyceum)

about 2,353 years ago

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Aristotle

, Athens (Lyceum)His own words, in the Politics

In plain words, ours

What belongs to everyone gets looked after least. People care more about what's theirs than what they share, and neglect the shared things.

…for what is common to many is taken least care of; for all men regard more what is their own than what others share with them in, to which they pay less attention than is incumbent on every one:

Aristotle, Politics 2.3Translated by William Ellis (1912)Read the full passage (Aristotle, Politics 2.3, opens gutenberg.org)

What was going on, our summary

In his Politics, Aristotle is arguing against a proposal that citizens should have wives and children in common. He says that if every child were everyone's child, all of them would be neglected.

Checked claim by claim against: the passage around the quote.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. c. 348/347 BCEabout 19.5 years earlier Plato dies, aged about eighty Also in Athens
  2. 335/334 BCEabout 7 years earlier Aristotle opens his school at the Lyceum Also in Athens
  3. 336–323 BCEDuring it Diogenes meets Alexander Same years
  4. 334–323 BCEDuring it Alexander writes to Aristotle Same years
  5. c. 335–322 BCEThis momentAristotle on what is held in common
  6. c. 335–322 BCEDuring it Aristotle answers Plato's Republic Same passage
  7. c. 335–322 BCEDuring it Aristotle on being angry the right way More from Aristotle
  8. c. 335–322 BCEDuring it Aristotle on becoming just by just acts More from Aristotle
  9. c. 335–322 BCEDuring it Aristotle on one swallow and happiness More from Aristotle
  10. 323 BCEabout 4.5 years later Alexander dies in Babylon Same years
  11. c. 324–321 BCEabout 5 years later Diogenes the Cynic dies in Corinth Same years
  12. by 323 BCEabout 5 years later Diogenes makes a tub his home Also in Athens

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

But those who have their wives and children in common will not say so, but all will say so, though not as individuals; therefore, to use the word all is evidently a fallacious mode of speech; for this word is sometimes used distributively, and sometimes collectively, on account of its double meaning, and is the cause of inconclusive syllogisms in reasoning. Therefore for all persons to say the same thing was their own, using the word all in its distributive sense, would be well, but is impossible: in its collective sense it would by no means contribute to the concord of the state. Besides, there would be another inconvenience attending this proposal,

The quote: for what is common to many is taken least care of; for all men regard more what is their own than what others share with them in, to which they pay less attention than is incumbent on every one:

let me add also, that every one is more negligent of what another is to see to, as well as himself, than of his own private business; as in a family one is often worse served by many servants than by a few. Let each citizen then in the state have a thousand children, but let none of them be considered as the children of that individual, but let the relation of father and child be common to them all, and they will all be neglected.

Aristotle, Politics 2.3Translated by William Ellis (1912)Read the full passage (opens gutenberg.org)

When, and whose words

Date
c. 335–322 BCE. His works are hard to date; they are usually placed in his Lyceum years in Athens, 335–322 BCE.
Whose words
His own words, in the Politics. Who was Aristotle?
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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