ABSTRACT
In Plato and Aristotle, Richard Ned Lebow found the seeds of a cultural theory of international relations in their tripartite conception of the human soul. The soul’s three parts are appetite, spirit and reason. In any event, Ned ended up with three ideal-typical worlds, respectively based on appetites, spirit and fear, and oriented to gratification, standing and security. Superimposed on Aristotle’s abiding concern for stasis is his canonical assessment of the conditions of rule in any political society. When reason falls to the demands of self-esteem, the imbalance is more specific: elites take control of everything. “The most damaging kind of imbalance is at the elite level.” Ned says this emphatically and repeatedly. He is right, and it is happening in the United States. Ned sees appetites run amok, breakdown looming; “two distinct cultures are emerging, characterized by different, and arguably incompatible, beliefs, values and expectations.”.
