Democracy Ancient And Modern

Author : M. I. Finley
Publisher : Rutgers University Press
Page : 147 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2018-11-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781978802346

Get Book

Democracy Ancient and Modern by M. I. Finley Pdf

Western democracy is now at a critical juncture. Some worry that power has been wrested from the people and placed in the hands of a small political elite. Others argue that the democratic system gives too much power to a populace that is largely ill-informed and easily swayed by demagogues. This classic study of democratic principles is thus now more relevant than ever. A renowned historian of antiquity and political philosophy, Sir M.I. Finley offers a comparative analysis of Greek and modern conceptions of democracy. As he puts the ancient Greeks in dialogue with their contemporary counterparts, Finley tackles some of the most pressing issues of our day, including public apathy, partisanship, consensus politics, distrust of professional politicians, and the limits of free speech. Including three lectures that Finley delivered at Rutgers University, plus two additional essays that further illuminate his thinking, Democracy Ancient and Modern explores the dramatic differences between the close-knit civil society of the ancient Greeks and our own atomized mass societies. By mapping out democracy’s past and its present manifestations, this book helps us plot a course for democracy’s future.

Author : Josiah Ober,Charles Hedrick
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 487 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2021-03-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9780691227887

Get Book

Demokratia by Josiah Ober,Charles Hedrick Pdf

This book is the result of a long and fruitful conversation among practitioners of two very different fields: ancient history and political theory. The topic of the conversation is classical Greek democracy and its contemporary relevance. The nineteen contributors remain diverse in their political commitments and in their analytic approaches, but all have engaged deeply with Greek texts, with normative and historical concerns, and with each others' arguments. The issues and tensions examined here are basic to both history and political theory: revolution versus stability, freedom and equality, law and popular sovereignty, cultural ideals and social practice. While the authors are sharply critical of many aspects of Athenian society, culture, and government, they are united by a conviction that classical Athenian democracy has once again become a centrally important subject for political debate. The contributors are Benjamin R. Barber, Alan Boegehold, Paul Cartledge, Susan Guettel Cole, W. Robert Connor, Carol Dougherty, J. Peter Euben, Mogens H. Hansen, Victor D. Hanson, Carnes Lord, Philip Brook Manville, Ian Morris, Martin Ostwald, Kurt Raaflaub, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, Barry S. Strauss, Robert W. Wallace, Sheldon S. Wolin, and Ellen Meiksins Wood.

Author : Mogens Herman Hansen
Publisher : Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Athens (Greece)
ISBN : 8773043206

Get Book

The Tradition of Ancient Greek Democracy and Its Importance for Modern Democracy by Mogens Herman Hansen Pdf

Author : Paul Christesen
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2012-10-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781139576796

Get Book

Sport and Democracy in the Ancient and Modern Worlds by Paul Christesen Pdf

This book explores the relationship between sport and democratization. Drawing on sociological and historical methodologies, it provides a framework for understanding how sport affects the level of egalitarianism in the society in which it is played. The author distinguishes between horizontal sport, which embodies and fosters egalitarian relations, and vertical sport, which embodies and fosters hierarchical relations. Christesen also differentiates between societies in which sport is played and watched on a mass scale and those in which it is an ancillary activity. Using ancient Greece and nineteenth-century Britain as case studies, Christesen analyzes how these variables interact and finds that horizontal mass sport has the capacity to both promote and inhibit democratization at a societal level. He concludes that horizontal mass sport tends to reinforce and extend democratization.

Author : Wilfried Nippel
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2015
Category : History
ISBN : 9781107020726

Get Book

Ancient and Modern Democracy by Wilfried Nippel Pdf

A comprehensive account of Athenian democracy as a subject of criticism, admiration and scholarly debate since 2,500 years, covering the features of Athenian democracy, its importance for the English, American and French revolutions and for the debates on democracy and political liberty from the nineteenth century to the present.

Author : P. J. Rhodes
Publisher : Bristol Classical Press
Page : 154 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2003-07-17
Category : Fiction
ISBN : UOM:39015058098636

Get Book

Ancient Democracy and Modern Ideology by P. J. Rhodes Pdf

How should we study the democracy of classical Athens? Attitudes to Athenian democracy have always been affected by the circumstances of those studying it. This text examines the different approaches to its study and argues that objectivity should be strived for.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Athens (Greece)
ISBN : OCLC:1012103475

Get Book

Democracy Ancient and Modern by Anonim Pdf

Author : Moses I. Finley
Publisher : Chatto & Windus
Page : 118 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 1973-01-01
Category : Athens (Greece)
ISBN : 0701119691

Get Book

Democracy Ancient and Modern by Moses I. Finley Pdf

Author : Lisa Wegener
Publisher : GRIN Verlag
Page : 29 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2008-10
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9783640189526

Get Book

Basic Ideas of Ancient Greek Democracy and Their Relevance for Modern Conceptions of Democracy by Lisa Wegener Pdf

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, University of Applied Sciences Bremen, course: Democracy: Theory and Practice, 6 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The fascination that springs from the first democratic polity of history, the ancient polis of Attica, remains undaunted right up to now and the examination of this alluring topic will certainly occupy future scientists as well. The main questions are: How - and most of all why - did democracy develop at this time and at this place? How was this political system organised? And what lessons can we draw from the rise and fall of the Athenian democracy? In the following, I am going to touch some of these issues while analysing what the basic ideas of Athenian democracy looked like, comparing the ancient with the modern understanding and investigating to what extent they might be relevant to current theories of democracy. Thus, I am going to concentrate more on the abstract, intellectual foundations of the political system than on concrete manifestations like institutions and procedures. From my point of view, this approach appears to be more advantageous anyway because the formal frame could only be applied much harder to modern states than general ideas might be. As the basic ideas which led to the genesis and shaped the form of democracy may be considered the power of the people (commonly known as the rule of the people but I am going to show why this is not the appropriate translation), equality, liberty and the rule of law. After having examined the nature and consequences of these concepts, I am going to summarise my results.

Author : Paul Cartledge
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 383 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2016-03-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9780190494322

Get Book

Democracy by Paul Cartledge Pdf

Ancient Greece first coined the concept of "democracy", yet almost every major ancient Greek thinker-from Plato and Aristotle onwards- was ambivalent towards or even hostile to democracy in any form. The explanation for this is quite simple: the elite perceived majority power as tantamount to a dictatorship of the proletariat. In ancient Greece there can be traced not only the rudiments of modern democratic society but the entire Western tradition of anti-democratic thought. In Democracy, Paul Cartledge provides a detailed history of this ancient political system. In addition, by drawing out the salient differences between ancient and modern forms of democracy he enables a richer understanding of both. Cartledge contends that there is no one "ancient Greek democracy" as pure and simple as is often believed. Democracy surveys the emergence and development of Greek politics, the invention of political theory, and-intimately connected to the latter- the birth of democracy, first at Athens in c. 500 BCE and then at its greatest flourishing in the Greek world 150 years later. Cartledge then traces the decline of genuinely democratic Greek institutions at the hands of the Macedonians and-subsequently and decisively-the Romans. Throughout, he sheds light on the variety of democratic practices in the classical world as well as on their similarities to and dissimilarities from modern democratic forms, from the American and French revolutions to contemporary political thought. Authoritative and accessible, Cartledge's book will be regarded as the best account of ancient democracy and its long afterlife for many years to come.

Author : Josiah Ober
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2020-09-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780691217970

Get Book

The Athenian Revolution by Josiah Ober Pdf

Where did "democracy" come from, and what was its original form and meaning? Here Josiah Ober shows that this "power of the people" crystallized in a revolutionary uprising by the ordinary citizens of Athens in 508-507 B.C. He then examines the consequences of the development of direct democracy for upper-and lower-class citizens, for dissident Athenian intellectuals, and for those who were denied citizenship under the new regime (women, slaves, resident foreigners), as well as for the general development of Greek history. When the citizens suddenly took power into their own hands, they changed the cultural and social landscape of Greece, thereby helping to inaugurate the Classical Era. Democracy led to fundamental adjustments in the basic structures of Athenian society, altered the forms and direction of political thinking, and sparked a series of dramatic reorientations in international relations. It quickly made Athens into the most powerful Greek city-state, but it also fatally undermined the traditional Greek rules of warfare. It stimulated the development of the Western tradition of political theorizing and encouraged a new conception of justice that has striking parallels to contemporary theories of rights. But Athenians never embraced the notions of inherency and inalienability that have placed the concept of rights at the center of modern political thought. Thus the play of power that constituted life in democratic Athens is revealed as at once strangely familiar and desperately foreign, and the values sustaining the Athenian political community as simultaneously admirable and terrifying.

Author : Kurt A. Raaflaub,Josiah Ober,Robert Wallace
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2008-10-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520258099

Get Book

Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece by Kurt A. Raaflaub,Josiah Ober,Robert Wallace Pdf

"A balanced, high-quality analysis of the developing nature of Athenian political society and its relationship to 'democracy' as a timeless concept."—Mark Munn, author of The School of History

Author : Nancy Evans
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520262027

Get Book

Civic Rites by Nancy Evans Pdf

"Civic Rites clearly demonstrates the complete interdependence of religion and democracy in Athens, illustrating just how much the ancient Athenians' view of the relationship between these powerful forces differs from that in twenty-first century, Western democracies. Evans has provided a systematic, thorough, and lively treatment, liberating readers from modern expectations and offering a new window onto Athenian society."_Loren J. Samons, author of What's Wrong with Democracy? From Athenian Practice to American Worship "It is a double task the author has undertaken: to demonstrate the interdependence, nay, integration of politics and religion in the high days of 'democratic' Athens and to bring this special form of 'democracy' home to a contemporary non-specialist public. She brilliantly succeeds in both, presenting a clear and poignant narrative with graphic details. Civic Rites is a novel and fascinating course through a seemingly well-known field."_Walter Burkert, author of Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth "In equal measures intelligent, accessible, and well-informed, this book provides a contemporary introduction to classical Athenian religious practices and their manifold cultural significance. Evans interweaves overviews of political, economic, and social history with engaging descriptions of several major Attic rites. This book will interest specialists while providing students with an illuminating pathway into the familiar yet alien world of ancient Greek religion."_Deborah Boedeker, Brown University "With vivid, elegant writing and compelling imagination, Nancy Evans recreates the complex interaction of religion and politics in the ancient Athenian Democracy. Deftly interweaving chapters on cult and on political developments, she shows the general reader an Athens that is stranger to modern sensibilities than we often realize, and yet one from which we can learn many things about democratic life. A wonderful achievement."_Martha Nussbaum, author of The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy

Author : Josiah Ober
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 363 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2008-09-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400828807

Get Book

Democracy and Knowledge by Josiah Ober Pdf

When does democracy work well, and why? Is democracy the best form of government? These questions are of supreme importance today as the United States seeks to promote its democratic values abroad. Democracy and Knowledge is the first book to look to ancient Athens to explain how and why directly democratic government by the people produces wealth, power, and security. Combining a history of Athens with contemporary theories of collective action and rational choice developed by economists and political scientists, Josiah Ober examines Athenian democracy's unique contribution to the ancient Greek city-state's remarkable success, and demonstrates the valuable lessons Athenian political practices hold for us today. He argues that the key to Athens's success lay in how the city-state managed and organized the aggregation and distribution of knowledge among its citizens. Ober explores the institutional contexts of democratic knowledge management, including the use of social networks for collecting information, publicity for building common knowledge, and open access for lowering transaction costs. He explains why a government's attempt to dam the flow of information makes democracy stumble. Democratic participation and deliberation consume state resources and social energy. Yet as Ober shows, the benefits of a well-designed democracy far outweigh its costs. Understanding how democracy can lead to prosperity and security is among the most pressing political challenges of modern times. Democracy and Knowledge reveals how ancient Greek politics can help us transcend the democratic dilemmas that confront the world today.

Author : Edwin Carawan
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 323 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2020-12-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781421439501

Get Book

Control of the Laws in the Ancient Democracy at Athens by Edwin Carawan Pdf

The definitive book on judicial review in Athens from the 5th through the 4th centuries BCE. The power of the court to overturn a law or decree—called judicial review—is a critical feature of modern democracies. Contemporary American judges, for example, determine what is consistent with the Constitution, though this practice is often criticized for giving unelected officials the power to strike down laws enacted by the people's representatives. This principle was actually developed more than two thousand years ago in the ancient democracy at Athens. In Control of the Laws in the Ancient Democracy at Athens, Edwin Carawan reassesses the accumulated evidence to construct a new model of how Athenians made law in the time of Plato and Aristotle, while examining how the courts controlled that process. Athenian juries, Carawan explains, were manned by many hundreds of ordinary citizens rather than a judicial elite. Nonetheless, in the 1890s, American apologists found vindication for judicial review in the ancient precedent. They believed that Athenian judges decided the fate of laws and decrees legalistically, focusing on fundamental text, because the speeches that survive from antiquity often involve close scrutiny of statutes attributed to lawgivers such as Solon, much as a modern appellate judge might resort to the wording of the Framers. Carawan argues that inscriptions, speeches, and fragments of lost histories make clear that text-based constitutionalism was not so compelling as the ethos of the community. Carawan explores how the judicial review process changed over time. From the restoration of democracy down to its last decades, the Athenians made significant reforms in their method of legislation, first to expedite a cumbersome process, then to revive the more rigorous safeguards. Jury selection adapted accordingly: the procedure was recast to better represent the polis, and packing the court was thwarted by a complicated lottery. But even as the system evolved, the debate remained much the same: laws and decrees were measured by a standard crafted in the image of the people. Offering a comprehensive account of the ancient origins of an important political institution through philological methods, rhetorical analysis of ancient arguments, and comparisons between models of judicial review in ancient Greece and the modern United States, Control of the Laws in the Ancient Democracy at Athens is an innovative study of ancient Greek law and democracy.