Polity (Greek: Πολιτεία or Πολίτευμα transliterated as Politeía or Políteuma) is a general term that refers to political organization of a group. It is often used to describe a loosely organized society such as a tribe or community, but can mean any political group including a government or empire, corporation or academy. It is also used in the phrase ecclesiastical polity as a synonym of church government. http://www. ... A community usually refers to a group of people who interact and share certain things as a group, but it can refer to various collections of living things sharing an environment, plant or animal. ... What exactly constitutes an Empire (from the Latin imperium, denoting military command within the ancient Roman government) is a topic of intense debate within the scholarly community. ... A corporation is a legal person which, while being composed of natural persons, exists completely separately from them. ... Raphaels portrait of Plato, a detail of The School of Athens fresco An an institution for the study of (usually) higher learning. ...

Aristotle described a polity as rule by the many, who are neither wealthy nor poor, in the interests of the whole community. He believed it to be the ideal form of government somewhere between oligarchy and democracy. Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ...

See also

• Entity
• Body politic
• Ecclesiastical polity