ABSTRACT
Thucydides, Plato and Aristotle attribute civil disorder to lack of self-restraint, especially on the part of high-status actors, and consider it a consequence of psychological imbalance. Aristotle notes that elite corruption stimulates the appetites of poorer people, making them want a greater share of the wealth and more supportive politicians who promise it to them. For Thucydides and Aristotle, the defining moment of civic breakdown is when actors or factions capture the institutions of state for partisan purposes. Aristotle observes that when conflict becomes sufficiently acute, a leader, faction or state can feel the need to act preemptively; they prepare to strike out before they are victimized. If order depends on robust hierarchies, the maintenance of those hierarchies by elites can contribute to disorder when entry into the elite is restrictive and arouses the resentment of those excluded.
