Books IV, V, and VI of Aristotle’s Politics are sometimes referred to as the “practical” books, since they are most concerned with the actual practice of political life in general and with analyzing in particular the most common kinds of regime, oligarchies and democracies. For the time being, then, Aristotle abandons the standard or goal that has guided him in books II and III—the simply best regime—and looks instead to the variety of lesser kinds of communities that actual statesmen are most likely to encounter. In Book IV, Aristotle sketches the best practicable regime, which is based on the rule of the middle class. Book V is concerned with the causes of revolution and the ways to preserve regimes. And Book VI attempts to make the case, to democratic and oligarchic partisans, that moderation and the rule of law are goods they, too, should cherish.