What Democracy Meant to the Greeks

By Walter Agard

Book Overview

Democracy is a Greek word. The democratic way of life was first formulated and practiced by the Greeks. In the face of Oriental tyranny they proclaimed, and fought successfully to preserve, the superior values of self-governing communities. Among them arose the civil liberties of speech and public assembly. They regarded the state as educational and ethical in its primary purpose rather than military and coercive, and recognized its duty to provide citizens with opportunities for richly varied living. Facing the difficulties of foreign relations, they created an empire controlled by a democracy and confederations of city-states. In times like these, when democratic institutions have undergone more violent criticism and attack than ever before, it may be useful to re-examine this phase of Greek life the original evolution of a democratic society, its aims and procedures, the appraisal of its successes and failures by its own critics, the causes of its decline. Since the problems which confronted the Greeks were in many respects similar to ours, it may be that we can still profit from their experience. To be sure, their leading state, Athens, was different from any of the present time. That was a smaller, less complicated, less experienced world. The immaturities are obvious, especially in economic resources and scientific technology. Conduct lacked the guide of Christian ethics. To a certain extent Athens was not a democracy at all its economy involved a slave system, although, as we shall see, the notion that it was an aristocratic society favouring the privileged few at the expense of the masses is far from correct. There was only a rudimentary system of representation, with most of the officials chosen by lot public policy was generally determined by direct vote of the citizens. Other differences between that democracy and ours will appear in the course of this study.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1406775673
• ISBN13: 9781406775679
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Davies Press
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"