FREE ESSAY ON GOOD CITIZEN VS. GOOD MAN

GOOD CITIZEN VS. GOOD MAN

The good man and the good citizen are not one and the
same. What can be said about one cannot be necessarily said about the other. It is
essential for the good man to be a good citizen. It is not, though, vital for the good
citizen to be a good man. This distinction is important to make, because it helps one
understand that the qualities a good man possesses far supersede those of a good
citizen.
A good citizen does what is best for the community, his city. As long as he is no harm to
his surroundings, and cares for the improvement and betterment of his city, he is a good
citizen. Who a person is doesn't greatly affect what kind of citizen he will be. What if
a man is a secret murderer? If we were to say that he only kills people outside of his
city, would he be affecting the city in any way? If he was a great politician and lived
this secret life as well would he still be a great citizen? The answer is yes. This is
because the good citizen doesn't have to care about others. He can allow his desires to
overpower his calculating. He doesn't have to have a well-ordered soul. In other words,
he doesn't have to be a good man. 
Aristotle chooses to search for the difference between the good man and the good citizen
by examining and analyzing their virtues. He concludes that, Hence, the virtue of a
citizen must be suited to his constitution. Consequently, if indeed there are several
kinds of constitution, it is clear that there cannot be a single virtue that is the
virtue-of a good citizen. But the good man, we say, does express a single virtue: the
complete one. Evidently, then, it is possible for someone to be a good citizen without
having acquired the virtue expressed by a good man (1276b). What Aristotle doesn't tell
us is who is better off. Is it sufficient to be the good citizen or is it definitely more
satisfying to be the good man? The good man is recognizably superior to the good citizen.

The good man possesses everything that is good. He does what is just and what is just is
beneficial to himself and to those around him. His soul is completely well-ordered and,
therefore, cannot allow for his desires to take over and commit evil or injustice of any
kind. This can't be said about the good citizen and that is what makes the good man
superior. He is the good citizen and a whole lot more.
The distinction between the good citizen and the good man is an important one to make. If
it is to be assumed that they are equal, then we wouldn't even have a grasp on the
definition of the complete virtue. It would be assumed that there isn't just one way a
person should be, considering the good citizen's virtue is dependent on his varying kind
of constitution. By making the distinction, an example is set for others to follow. It is
as if someone is saying, This is the good man so try to be like him. If it were believed
that the good citizen is the same as the good man, there would exist a lot more injustice
in the world.