ἕτεροι καὶ ἶσοι: Aristotle on diversity and equality in the constitution of polis

Résumé

In this paper, we focus on difference as a feature of political community, in Greek Ancient thought. There usually describes the Greek conception of polis as a community of equals. This is a very important legacy. However, this is not the same as to (misleadingly) state it as a homogeneous community (as Émile Durkhein does in De la division du travail social,1893). The tension between equality and diversity is a paramount political theme, and there is a lot to learn about this from Aristotle. His investigations on the nature of polis propose an original combination of equality and difference to ground human associations.