The State and Law as Supreme Values in Plato and Aristotle’s Teachings

The article explores the issues of state and law in the teachings by prominent representatives of ancient social thought, Plato and Aristotle. The purpose of their works to some extent was the theoretical justification of the existing socio-political formation, the study of the problem of state and law in the context of the concept of justice. Ancient philosophers, when studying the problem of justice, were primarily interested in its political and legal aspects. At the same time, the problems of politics and law in Plato and Aristotle’s teachings were not devoid of the context of economic factors, which are the main determinant of social realities. Their merits include the lay-out of the questions of the need for citizens to participate in the country’s political life of the country, the interpretation of the state and law as the highest values, an indication of the role of the state and law in the realization of justice, an attempt to determine a fair measure of equality and inequality. The author is trying to identify in their teachings what is valuable that can be used in the conditions of modern socio-political realities.