Ancient Sparta and the Peoples' Republic of China

Ancient Sparta and the Peoples' Republic of China. Separated by two millenia and just as many continents, these two civilizations could not represent a more stark contrast. Both have experienced their fair share of media recently, with Spartan culture appearing on the big screen and the Peoples' Republic of China grabbing the attention of media for their censorship and shady governmental practices. In this short book I'm writing, we will compare the important aspect of the political system in both societies, first in Ancient Sparta, then in the Peoples' Republic of China. I will also briefly delve into the social classes in these societies, as they are important to the understanding of the polictal system.

Sparta, also less commonly known as Lacedaemon, was an oligarchical city-state of ancient Greece. It was located on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, which is still part of Greece to this day. It came about around the 11th century BC, following the invasion of the Dorians, on the four major Greek tribes. Sparta is perhaps best known for its military strength, which can be credited to legendary law-giver Lycurgus, who created the Spartan constitution in 650 BC.

Not much is known of the internal development of Sparta, and it was widely believed by many Greeks that the Spartan constitution was unchanged from its creation. According to tradition, Spartans were prohibited from keeping any historical records, literature, or written laws. As a result, Spartan traditions and laws were passed down orally from generation to generation, so little was known about them. What we do know about Spartans comes from historians of the day, and was considered primitive by Greek standards. The Spartan government was a mash-up of a monarch...

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...f America, they are not equal in duties, and as a result a balance of power is not created.

The National People's Congress holds the greatest amount of power in modern-day China. It consists of approximately 3,000 delegates to date, each elected for a 5-year term. About 70% of the currently elected delegates are members of the Communist Party of China. Delegates are not elected directly by the populace, but rather by other provincial representatives, who are in turn elected by lower level representatives, and so on and so forth, often reaching 5 or more tiers of representatives before actually being directly elected by the people. Unlike the United States, China does not allow for an unlimited amount of candidates per seat. The NPC allows for only 110 candidates per 100 seats, although at the lower levels of government, there is no limit on the amount of candidates.