Introduction to political theory Is Aristotle's ideal state a place of hierarchy rather than equality? Discuss.Aristotle is a philosopher born in the Greek city of Stagirus in 384 BC and is well known for being a thinker who presented his views on a number of things, from philosophy to politics. One of the key policy topics he addressed was the ideal city and what he believed it consisted of. The ideal city could be seen as the “end of associations” and I will explain why this happens later in the text. While trying to understand his perspective on the ideal city it is essential to remember that he is a teleological thinker, therefore he believes that everything has a function and a purpose; this becomes evident throughout his text. While to some extent it can be argued that Aristotle's ideal state is a place of equality, I believe it is more of a place where hierarchy is presented. The main reason for this is that when he talks about how a state is created he claims that a state is made up of many villages that come together through families, that are created through associations. The reasons why I believe these associations create a hierarchy, along with other contributions, I will discuss in this essay. In terms of associations, Aristotle goes in depth explaining three key associations which are the slave and the master, the wife and the husband, and the child and the father. Looking at the family in detail we can see a hierarchy present that will inevitably influence the city. Since slavery is an acceptable notion to Aristotle that every home should include a slave, we are able to see that the family itself is a state of hierarchy. Because regarding certain roles that in a certain sense come "natural" to them, it is definitely a hierarchy rather than equality. This is simply because when you look deeply and break the associations that, added together, create the state, then you will see the hierarchy present both between the master and the slave, between the wife and the husband, between the father and the son. Furthermore, when there is a division between citizens of the state and non-citizens, then obviously the state cannot be equal because between the two there is this barrier that is intended to be the norm. However, one could also say that a state of pure equality would never function properly, so hierarchy would always be present. However, I believe that in an ideal state there should be no hierarchy, and this hierarchy is clearly visible in Aristotle's ideal state.