Notes by O C Sure - Leo Strauss on Aristotle Against Communism

00:00:00 - MUST study the best governments in practice, Sparta and Carthage, and the most talked about in theory, Communism. Of property, there are few variations of how much if any should be common (not private). Plato says everything should be common and nothing private.
00:12:20 - THREE main institutions of The Republic. 1) Women, children, and property shared in common 2) Equality of the sexes 3) Rule by philosophers. Why does Aristotle not comment on the institution that Plato goes on about the most, that philosophers rule? Because they are only the means to the end of communism and equality of the sexes. Their job is to have everyone believe that they should want this end [no different from today's academics, I add].
00:19:50 - THE essential error of Communism is its aim of unity. Aristotle demonstrates this is contrary to the nature of a state.
00:29:50 - WHAT is Plato's main concern? That all things that bring about Communism begin with the abolition of privacy. Privacy is outlawed. Strauss says that Plato's Communism goes beyond today's Communism. [I add that was 60 years ago and the momentum is today catching up with regards to lack of privacy and equality of the sexes. The academics still love Plato and are doing all they can to compel everyone to oblige the contradiction].
00:32:09 - INCEST. What is a family and why do Communists advocate incest?
00:42:00 - WHY common property is the neglect of property
00:43:53 - THE universal reason why common property is contrary to human nature. Because man has a body there must be privacy and from this private property. Appropriation by the body necessary to being alive demonstrates ownership. Plato says this himself in Laws line 749.
01:03:14 - CONCLUSION that Communism and Equality of Sexes is contrary to human nature in that "which chiefly inspires regard and affection are that a thing is your own and that it is precious" [same gist, but I took this verbatim from Oxford Translation (it's the best!]
01:07:45 - SUMMARY of Aristophanes view of love.
01:12:58 - THE problem of working hard and getting little.
01:17:01 - SUMMARY of Aristotle's demolition of the theory of Communism
01:19:20 - STRAUSS completes the conclusion: "Communism is utterly impossible. Meaning these demands for privacy, without which we cannot live well and pleasantly, are not fulfilled. That would be a constant necessity of friction but also is the constant interference in [one's] life with the most petty things. This is unbearable."
01:20:40 - WHAT is and what should be. Intimation of the opening of Book II, part 1, "We only undertake this inquiry because all the constitutions which now exist are faulty." Aristotle writes the blueprint for the perfect state, Books 7 and 8 [combine excellence and freedom by removing the ability to make money out of political offices, reciprocity of the best persons in office, term limits, raise the voting age to 35 years or older, rightly chosen ends met by excellence means is the way].
01:23:00 - DIFFERENCE between Aristotle and Hegel. Regarding the future, Hegel believes there is no turning back progress, Aristotle says a natural disaster can relapse civilization back to barbarism, a recovery follow, and that this can happen an infinite amount of times since nature is eternal.
01:28:50 - DANGER of make the same persons always rule. Those who carry arms are the younger rulers but only elders should vote [and for the same reason]. Plato's paradox of the entirety being happy but not concerned for the happiness of the parts. Aristotle's view that you cannot have a happy state consisting of unhappy elements.

Leo Strauss's recordings of him reviewing Aristotle with his students is the best teaching of the material I have found in a classroom format. The method is classic by way of reciprocal questions and answers during class rather than a boring lecture (replete with power-point induced coma) followed by Q&A. Anyone can learn the knowledge directly from Aristotle himself by reading the source material but Strauss adds his own take and insights on the material that are not contrary or biased, but illuminating. He is also quick to point out the incorrectness of the translation they are using. He often compares key points to other well known opinions. In this presentation he mentions Hobbes, Marx, Lenin, Locke, Hegel, Goethe, Aristophanes, and, of course, Plato. POLITICS, Book II, 1-5, is Aristotle's demolition of Plato's Republic.

This is Recording 4 posted here:
https://leostrausscenter.uchicago.edu/audio-transcripts/courses-audio-transcripts/