In book three of Aristotle's Politics, he talks about the nature of constitutions but in order for him to do this he first ponders what makes a citizen a citizen. This definition is crucial to understanding the nature of constitutions and the changing nature of cities because as constitutions change so too does the city. Since the city is made up of citizens one question that is raised after reading book three that is useful for us today is what makes a person a good citizen and how could Aristotle's definition of a citizen be beneficial to people in the United States? To answer this question one must first understand what a citizen is according to Aristotle.
A citizen is "not just an inhabitant of a place, by simply residing in a certain city-state, one is not considered a citizen. Nor is someone who participates in the justice system by prosecuting others in the courts or being judged there is a citizen"(1275a5). After defining what is not a citizen, Aristotle goes into......
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