Published Thursday, June 26, 2008 by Isaac M. Morehouse
Moderation is only good if it is moderating between two bad extremes and to a good mean, and not if it is moderating between a good and a bad. Advocating a "mixed economy" or a middle ground between socialism and capitalism is nothing more than advocating a middle ground between threatening your neighbor with violence if he doesn't do your will and not threatening him with violence. If he resists, it becomes the same as the "middle ground" between murdering and not murdering. In that sense, capitalism is an extreme, just as courage is an extreme against noncourage.
(Original Text)
Aristotle on Mixed Economies (1.53 MB)