ABSTRACT
Aristotle’s accounts of demagogues and civic friendship in his Politics suggest that contemporary populism undermines both civic friendship and justice. The three sections of this paper address Aristotle’s views on demagogues and civic friendship, the nature and circumstances of populism in the U.S., and the Aristotelian remedies that may be helpful in strengthening civic friendship today. A central thesis is that wide civic friendship is a virtue essential to the functioning of democratic institutions, and one that is more prevalent in the presence of good institutions.
