Straussism and Evolvementalism

The interest here in the Political Philosophies of Plato and Aristotle is not to be confused with a similar-seeming invocation of them, in recent decades, on the parts of Leo Strauss and some of his followers. Strauss's ostensible purpose is to expose the speciousness of the presumed universality and inalienability of 'Rights' that have been the foundation of Modern Democracy. In contrast to such 'Rights', argues Strauss, those Ancient doctrines are exemplary because of their idea of an impersonal 'Good', from which Aristocratism is derived as the best form of Rule, since only the few 'best' have the capacity to cognize that idea. However, what he actually accomplishes is indistinguishable from Oligarchism, Plutocratism, or Theocratism, since his notion of the 'Ancient' Era includes the Medieval Era, he fails to appreciate that for Plato and Aristotle, an Aristocracy and a Democracy are not mutually exclusive, and his attack on the Modern concept of 'Right' never once targets what is perhaps the most pervasive example of it, namely Property 'Rights'. Rather, the Political Philosophy here is derived from the Evolvemental Principle, in particular from the idea that society as a whole is Evolving, a process which combines homogenizing and innovating processes. While the Law accounts for the former, it is Individuals who are the source of the latter. So the Rule of Law is a necessary but not a sufficent condition of a healthy society, which also requires the scope of understanding of the Wisest to initiate and guide its growth.