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Democracy in ancient athens classical period
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Democracy in ancient athens classical period
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What is democracy? a) 2 definitions i) Like Aristotle’s thinking: “the rule of many.” Aka direct/participatory democracy. All/most people directly participate by holding office or creating policy ii) Representative democracy: most countries that are “democratic” are governed under a representative democracy (1) There are people in charge who fight for votes (2) also called the elitist theory of democracy (3) although it takes time, interest, experts for people to agree on policy, you can get reasonable decision making (4) participatory government can lead to bad decisions because people just follow what is popular at the time and what the popular opinion is 3. Is representative democracy best?
What is democracy? For a long time, historians have kept this question in mind while studying laws and methods of the Ancient Athenians. After investigating the given evidence, it can be determined Ancient Athens did not always vote on important matters and only a small majority of the population could vote. Because of this, Athens cannot be considered democratic. “The rule of the people” is the definition of Democracy.
Once Pericles defines Athenian democracy, he utilizes a particular negation and particular affirmative to compare their government to others. Pericles makes the declarative claim that “[The Athenian] government
The Greek philosopher Aristotle believed the people's government known as demokratia (democracy) was less desirable than other forms of authority such as aristocracy, polity, and monarchy. The root word "demos" has several meanings in the Greek Language. The term democracy means mob or assembly and Aristotle believed a democratic government was an authority ruled by the lesser educated or mob rule. During the period of Athenian Democracy, native male born citizens were strongly encouraged to participate in politics while women, slaves, and aliens were without decision-making priviledges. Some Athenians purchased their positions, while others were not equipped to contribute to politics properly.
He also believed that “the welfare of society had always been left to corrupt or incompetent politicians, ignorant voters, over-ambitious generals, and other people unsuited to run a state” (Plato: Democracy). He believed that philosophers should be in charge (Plato: Democracy) and in his mind, the government should be representative of the ordinary man. While Plato would never have considered himself a supporter of democracy, I believe that many of his ideas fit nicely into one. In my ideal government, the voice of the general public would be more important than those of politicians, because as humans, we are easily corrupted and when only a few individuals are in power, it is only the rich and powerful who end up with a
The term, Democracy, stems from the Greek word ‘demokratia’ which means rule by the people and it wasn’t until around 500 BCE in Athens where the first examples of democracy originated. While Athens is widely regarded as the first historical example of a democratic system, some scholars believe that the Roman Empire’s republic system was more democratic than that of the Greek. As I will come to
Is democracy the best form of government? It is mainly focused on the power of the people. A democracy is all about forming, managing, and collecting knowledge. If Athens becomes a democratic place, it will develop into a successful city-state because of it and the people, as they will be the ones ruling it. Democracy is successful since it organizes useful knowledge, making it both innovational and educational.
A leader needs to show multiple components to be successful, but the best way seems to be control to people with fear. These passages are coming from all different times in the world, but the facts and ideas still stand true today. Aristotle defines democracy as a form of government that is by the people, one where everyone has a
Pericles was an Athenian Statesman born in 495 BC in a small town named Holoros, north of Athens. He came from a family of rich Aristocrats, and was deeply involved with changing the structure of Greek government. In 461 BC, Pericles was pronounced the leader of Athens. He created laws that allowed every citizen to be a part of the government, and laws that balanced the rich and the poor. Pericles strengthened Athens by creating and introducing direct democracy to them, and also by valuing their arts and literature.
While some, like Plato in his The Republic, thought it weak to give government into the hands of the common people, Pericles countered this argument with a compelling argument of greatness. By putting government into the hands of the people, the people are united and more devoted to their country. Democracy bonds the people together in a way that no other government can understand. Pericles confidently states, “Athenians advance unsupported into the territory of a neighbor, and fighting upon a foreign soil usually vanquish with ease men who are defending their homes.”
I believe Plato’s Republic is important because it alludes to both the good and bad that is democracy. In this prompt Scott Christiansen quotes Plato saying that democracy is a “charming” form of government because it is diverse and gives equality to those who are poor and rich. These words describe democracy in a positive light; however, soon after Plato begins to delve deeper into why democracy is not all melted pots and campfire songs. Plato proceeds to say that democracies usually evolve into a form of government where chaos between the rich and the poor is prominent. This disorder and disagreement between both diverse groups ultimately leads to the search for a leader that will protect ideologies held by these groups.
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates comes to the conclusion that we need to have a strong just society that is in the right order. In Books IV, V, and VI, Socrates explains that every society needs to be built on justice, everyone needs to have an occupation, and what a male and female household should look like. These are my prerequisites to what I consider essential to create a just society. Because without these qualities in an established society, you can hurt an entire civilization. And to Socrates argument, with an ideal king will come forms of co-operated citizens of a city.
Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, ¨Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.¨(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens, was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not even using the essentials of democracy that is used today, “Thus, by our standards, it was oligarchy, not democracy.¨(Document D), therefore ancient Athens was not using democracy as their form of government, they were using oligarchy,another form of government in which a small group of people has power and control, as their form of government instead of democracy.
I believe that Plato believes that people are inherently good and they will do what is morally right and just for society. They will earn their right to power and ensure fairness for all to prevent the tyrants from trying to take control. Plato mentions three main arguments regarding
I believe that Aristotle’s ideas are more significant as they closer to western beliefs than Plato’s. Similarities can be found in religion, art, government, and evolution. Unlike Plato, Aristotle believed in the idea of a god, much like many people today. He believed that God was the First thing to exist, separate from all matter and is the ultimate form. As well as is a pure minded being.
