First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient IdeaOxford University Press, 2006 M03 16 - 304 pages Americans have an unwavering faith in democracy and are ever eager to import it to nations around the world. But how democratic is our own "democracy"? If you can vote, if the majority rules, if you have elected representatives--does this automatically mean that you have a democracy? In this eye-opening look at an ideal that we all take for granted, classical scholar Paul Woodruff offers some surprising answers to these questions. Drawing on classical literature, philosophy, and history--with many intriguing passages from Sophocles, Aesop, and Plato, among others--Woodruff immerses us in the world of ancient Athens to uncover how the democratic impulse first came to life. The heart of the book isolates seven conditions that are the sine qua non of democracy: freedom from tyranny , harmony, the rule of law, natural equality, citizen wisdom, reasoning without knowledge, and general education. He concludes that a true democracy must be willing to invite everyone to join in government. It must respect the rule of law so strongly that even the government is not above the law. True democracy must be mature enough to accept changes that come from the people. And it must be willing to pay the price of education for thoughtful citizenship. If we learn anything from the story of Athens, Woodruff concludes, it should be this--never lose sight of the ideals of democracy. This compact, eloquent book illuminates these ideals and lights the way as we struggle to keep democracy alive at home and around the world. |
From inside the book
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Page vi
... keep the dream alive, come what may. And the job of doers is to keep trying to approximate democracy as well as circumstances will allow. This book, about the ancient dream and its partial realization in Athens, is dedicated to the ...
... keep the dream alive, come what may. And the job of doers is to keep trying to approximate democracy as well as circumstances will allow. This book, about the ancient dream and its partial realization in Athens, is dedicated to the ...
Page 4
... keep it at bay. The Constitution is a magnificent solution to the problems faced by the founders but it is not democratic in itself and the virtually scriptural authority that it now enjoys is a drag on the evolution of democratic ...
... keep it at bay. The Constitution is a magnificent solution to the problems faced by the founders but it is not democratic in itself and the virtually scriptural authority that it now enjoys is a drag on the evolution of democratic ...
Page 11
... keep their numbers high. In the excitement of victory, they see no reason why they should restrain themselves. They clear the traditionalists out of all the important committees, so that nothing will obstruct or delay their agenda ...
... keep their numbers high. In the excitement of victory, they see no reason why they should restrain themselves. They clear the traditionalists out of all the important committees, so that nothing will obstruct or delay their agenda ...
Page 13
... keep the defeated faction within the circle of the department. First Democracy wished to avoid tyranny more than anything. That is why it did not define itself as majority rule, although it put to the vote most policy issues and some ...
... keep the defeated faction within the circle of the department. First Democracy wished to avoid tyranny more than anything. That is why it did not define itself as majority rule, although it put to the vote most policy issues and some ...
Page 16
... keep wealth from corrupting our juries. In pursuing democracy, the Athenians improved their system over the years. They made jury selection even less vulnerable to corruption, for example. They could not have made such progress without ...
... keep wealth from corrupting our juries. In pursuing democracy, the Athenians improved their system over the years. They made jury selection even less vulnerable to corruption, for example. They could not have made such progress without ...
Contents
3 | |
2 The Life and Death of Democracy | 21 |
3 Freedom from Tyranny And from Being a Tyrant | 61 |
4 Harmony | 81 |
5 The Rule of Law Nomos | 109 |
6 Natural Equality | 127 |
7 Citizen Wisdom | 145 |
8 Reasoning Without Knowledge | 171 |
Are Americans Ready for Democracy? | 211 |
Notes | 233 |
Dates | 258 |
Cast of Characters | 260 |
Guide to the Peloponnesian War | 263 |
Ancient Sources | 265 |
Scholarly Works Cited | 266 |
Index | 273 |
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able Aeschylus ancient argument army Assembly Athenians Athens attack believe better bring called chapter citizens civil claim common court culture debate decisions defeat defend democracy democratic elected empire enemies equal expert failed failure fear follow force freedom gave give Greece Greek harmony human ideal ideas interests issues judgment justice keep killed kind king knew knowledge known lead leaders lines live majority means nature never Nicias ordinary party Pericles Persian philosophers Plato play poets political poor practice probably Protagoras question reason requires reverence rhetoric rich rule of law shared shows side slaves Socrates Sparta speak speakers speech Syracuse teach teachers thing Thirty thought Thucydides trial tyranny tyrant United vote wealth wisdom women wrong young