Explain Why Does Aristotle Deny That Riches Make The Happiness Of The City

Paper # 1
(Why does Aristotle deny that riches make the happiness of the whole city?)
Aristotle does not specifically deny that riches make the happiness of the entire city but he does feel that riches alone will not provide happiness, at least in the Aristotelian sense of the word, to the entire city. To support this thesis, I will need to clarify what Aristotle means by happiness and why riches are insufficient means to provide this happiness to the whole city. I will also analyze Aristotle’s views regarding the telos of the individual and how this relates to the happiness of the whole city.
In Aristotle’s view, happiness is achieved by possessing what he refers to as the good. In chapter 1 of book 7, Aristotle separates the good into three different classes which he terms, external goods, goods of the body, and goods of the soul. External goods refer to the wealth and possessions of an individual or a city. Health is the main example of a good of the body. Goods of the soul include things like wisdom, courage, temperance, and virtue. Aristotle believes that of all the goods, the goods of the soul are
most important, but he feels that all three are necessary for happiness to be possible. This he holds to be a self evident truth. In Aristotle’s view, goods of the soul are the best kind of goods because they are ends in and of themselves and not just means to some other end.
The distinction between means and ends is important when answering the question of why riches can’t provide happiness to the whole city.
Aristotle considers happiness to be an end in itself which man pursues solely for its own sake. Riches are only considered a good to the extent that they help to facilitate man’s acquisition of the ends such as wisdom, virtue, and rational activity. Aristotle realizes that the mind is subservient to the body and that to meet the requirements of the body certain conditions must be present. Health is one of these conditions. Wealth can be used to build hospitals or to buy food or to create a military that can protect the individual or city. These are all things that help people stay healthy and safe thereby granting them the ability to pursue the higher end goods that Aristotle articulated, and to fulfill their
telos.
Aristotle believed that the telos or end purpose for individuals was happiness and that this happiness could be achieved by doing what people do best according to their nature. Aristotle felt that obtaining certain qualities such as wisdom, courage, and moderation was the best way for an individual to fulfill their telos and become happy. Aristotle also believed that the telos of a city is to facilitate the happiness of its citizens. It follows then that providing its citizens with the opportunity to reach their teloi is what the city ought to do. A city that is only focused on the acquisition of riches will fail to provide all of the goods necessary to produce happiness or eudemonia for its citizens. Instead, important end goods like temperance, which is necessary for true happiness, would be sacrificed for excess wealth.
In summation, riches do not make the happiness of the whole city but an insufficient amount of riches in the city may prevent the citizenry from obtaining happiness. Riches are mere means to an end. According to Aristotle, that end can only be reached when the riches are used to lay the necessary foundation for other goods to be built upon. The most important of all the goods are those of the soul.