Социально-политические взгляды Платона и Аристотеля в контексте современных представлений о природе политической коррупции

Abstract

The paper aims to reveal discrepancy of two basic approaches to defining corruption - contextualism and moralism. The study is based on comparing the ancient Greek philosophers’ views on corruption. The article analyses philosophical systems of Ancient Greece taking into account modern understanding of corruption. Scientific originality of the research involves justifying the thesis that in the ancient Greek thinkers’ works, any political regime is apriori considered corrupt, and supremacy of law is considered not as non-corruption in the government but as a practical means to prevent corrupt behaviour of power holders responsible for making national-scale decisions. As a result, the researcher concludes that the ancient Greek philosophers’ views are not in tune with moral absolutism, the prevailing tone of modern discussions on corruption.