Aristotle defines good and bad governments by ethical intent rather than constitution

Evidence

A government is good when it aims at the good of the whole community, bad when it cares only for itself. There are three kinds of government that are good: monarchy, aristocracy, and constitutional government (or polity); there are three that are bad: tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. There are also many mixed intermediate forms. It will be observed that the good and bad governments are defined by the ethical qualities of the holders of power, not by the form of the constitution. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 812

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 812
• XREF: connects to: Machiavelli based political philosophy on empirical means rather than moral ends — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1870; Motivation for a ruling must be distinguished from constitutional causality — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 807; Government’s end is human good, not rulers’ will — John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 286 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Machiavelli based political philosophy on empirical means rather than moral ends #qualifies (0.55) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1870
• Motivation for a ruling must be distinguished from constitutional causality #responds-to (0.55) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 807