The government, which is the supreme authority in states, must be in the hands of one, or of a few, or of the many. The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, the few, or the many, govern with a view to the common interest.
Aristotle (384–323 B.C.), Greek philosopher. Politics 3.7; 12798a26-28, The Complete Works of Aristotle, trans. by Jowett, ed. Jonathan Barnes, Princeton, Princeton University Press (1985).