This quote has been misattributed to Aristotle for a long time. A translation of the "Politics" of Heinrich von Treitschke published in 1916 (Dugden and De Bille) refers to "the time-honored truth, laid down by Aristotle, that the greatest wrong is to equalize the unequal." The wording presented above first appears in 1974 in an explanation of Aristotle's politics in Time magazine, before being condensed to an epigram as "Aristotle's Axiom" in Peter's People (1979) by Laurence J. Peter
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The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. (Whilst a paraphrase this is based on Aristotle's writings as Aristotle stated "For instance, it is thought that justice is equality, and so it is, though not for everybody but only for those who are equals; and it is thought that inequality is just, for so indeed it is, though not for everybody, but for those who are unequal" in https://www.loebclassics.com/view/aristotle-politics/1932/pb_LCL264.211.xml Politics, III. V. 8.

— Aristotle

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. (Whilst a paraphrase this is based on Aristotle's writings as Aristotle stated "For instance, it is thought that justice is equality, and so it is, though not for everybody but only for those who are equals; and it is thought that inequality is just, for so indeed it is, though not for everybody, but for those who are unequal" in https://www.loebclassics.com/view/aristotle-politics/1932/pb_LCL264.211.xml Politics, III. V. 8." in the context of "This quote has been misattributed to Aristotle for a long time. A translation of the "Politics" of Heinrich von Treitschke published in 1916 (Dugden and De Bille) refers to "the time-honored truth, laid down by Aristotle, that the greatest wrong is to equalize the unequal." The wording presented above first appears in 1974 in an explanation of Aristotle's politics in Time magazine, before being condensed to an epigram as "Aristotle's Axiom" in Peter's People (1979) by Laurence J. Peter" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Aristotle" (Misattributed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 24, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Aristotle

About Aristotle

Aristotle, a student of Plato, revolutionized Western thought through his systematic approach to logic, ethics, and natural sciences. His emphasis on empirical observation and deductive reasoning laid the foundation for scientific inquiry and profoundly shaped philosophy for centuries to come.