Democracy is rule by the constituents of a domain, but beyond that core principle, its interpretations varied wildly. Most notably, many of the concepts behind the original democracy that existed in Athens are unable to cover the system that directs the United States today, for two key reasons: population and distance. In the Athenian system of democracy, such a high emphasis was placed on individuals taking action in politics in a central location, that the entire system would fail under the strain that over 235 million (1) eligible participants, spread out over 3.806 million square miles. This is why Democratic Republics are common and effective today, especially in large countries.
A historically novel idea, by definition, Democracy is:
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However, the key difference between the Athenian and American systems of democracy is the inclusion republican principles: a buffer layer between the people and the highest tiers of government. Instead of eligible voters congregating to directly decide laws, voters elect representatives to congresses and cabinets, who then serve on terms. Even the President is elected through buffer, with the electoral college a vestige from the country 's founding. From these elected officials, bills become laws, policy is made and executed, and taxes are levied, all …show more content…
Athenian democracy could not succeed in America for these two reasons. Firstly, the size of the populace. Athenian democracy requires and incentivises political participation in a central congress, which is effective in the smaller numbers present in Athens. In the United States, the number of eligible voters per district is considerably larger, which would place strain on the decision making process and the efficiency of the system. Large numbers of people would be difficult to coordinate and direct towards a decision. Athenian democracy also relies on persons congregating together, a formidable task for a large country. The population in the United States is spread out over many miles, thousands of times larger in landmass than the city state of Athens. Organising mass transportation would be a statistical nightmare, and productivity would grind to a halt. These issues with the Athenian system promote the principles of a republic, as a smaller group of elected officials can gather with more ease, direct and be directed, and successfully manage a complex
Throughout history, many forms of government have come and gone with varying levels of success. Despite the vast cultural differences between Ancient Athens and the Modern Day United States, current American political institutions have been heavily influenced by the Ancient Athenians.
As I am a recent participant in the Assembly, some of you may not be familiar with my person. I am Simon, a cobbler from the Deme District of Athens in the Kydathenaeum. It was through my profession that I met Socrates, of whom I am a follower. He was my inspiration to attend the Assembly and to become an active participator in its discussions. Through Socrates and my visits to the Assembly, I gained my belief that those citizens who participate in the Assembly and serve as jurors in the law courts should not receive compensation because they are taking part in their civic duty as Athenians.
Faculty Senate at Truman State University is one small peg in the tradition and history that is representative government and democracy. The term ‘democracy’ is a Greek term that means rule of the people . The earliest democracy and representative government began in Greece, Athens specifically. When representatives were chosen they were selected from wealthy, white males. Usually the men who were chosen were the richest of the possible selection .
Before that can be established, I think a definition of democracy should be stated so that it may be called upon later in this essay. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, democracy is stated as "the principle of social equality and respect for the individual within a community" .
The Ancient Greeks were the first to put the power of a nation in the hands of the average citizen, they created the idea of the democratic government, practiced as a direct democracy. Voting, political assembly, and official citizenship are all concepts that can be traced back to Classical Grecian ideas .The Romans developed the concept of the representative democracy .This was best exemplified by the Roman Senate. The upper house of the US Congress is the Senate in ode to this ancient ideal. Although American Democracy is defined as a Representative Democracy, that is to say citizens elect those who make decisions, they owe a great deal to Greek ideas and concepts.
During the age of Pericles, the ideal form of government was believed to be a government formed by all of the citizens regardless of wealth or social standing. This was known as democracy, literally meaning “ government of the people” [Document 3.] This government favored the many instead of the few. Athens was a direct democracy, meaning every citizen participated in debates. Western civilization used this philosophy of government by many, and created an indirect democracy where citizens elect officials to make and enforce laws.
The restoration of Athenian democracy around the fifth century BC in the city-states referred to as the polis evidence the value of political autonomy. An Athenian democracy that was entitled to the city f Athens as well as surrounding regions likes Attica was the foremost autonomy across the universe. It inspired other cities in Greece to foster democracies (Ober & Weingast, 2017). A significant number of Greek cities followed Athenian theory. However, none of the cities were documented like Athens. Athenian autonomy was a structure of direct democracy. Athens residents were permitted to directly select their legislations well as executive bills through direct votes. Nonetheless, all Athens residents were not allowed to participate in the voting exercise. Voting qualifications included being an adult and a male citizen of
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary Democracy is a form of government by the people; especially: rule of the majority(Webster). This is what the United States is represented as, and this is based on the United States Constitution from which the United states draws all legal powers. In Robert Dahls book How democratic Is the American Constitution? He challenges this idea by trying to appeal to his readers in a way that they may view the United States Constitution in a different light. Dahl does this by pointing out flaws that the Constitution has and, draws on facts based on the other democracies around the world that the United States is compared too. He points out how many democratic ideas and innovations have a occurred since the conception of the American Constitution yet it has only adopted some of those idea.
The separation of power happened, this political doctrine according to which the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government are kept distinct from in order to prevent abuse of power. This U.S. form of separation is associated with the system of checks and balances. The Constitution introduced a system of democracy that made it fair and square in a way that it only be right for both government and people. in the constitution citizens elect their leader, people have the right to change leaders, people choose their leaders through elections which were held frequently and they have civil
In the year 507 B.C.E. Cleisthenes helped change Athenian ideals into a democracy. Those ideals still thrive in America today. However, Senator Bass claims that America has a flaw that will lead to the downfall of its democracy. Since America has a professional army, he claims, we oppose those great societies before us who sported citizen draft armies to protect their democracy. Although ancient Athens and ancient Rome are often portrayed as the first great democratic governments of history, these powerful empires were perhaps less democratic than they are usually thought of as. Athen’s political assembly was exclusive and often citizens had no checks on the statesman leading them, while wealthy Romans dominated politics and stole from the
However Athenian democracy formed the basic structure of many western societies today and has influenced them significantly. A continuity when comparing modern society’s and Ancient Greeks form of democracy is that the Ancient Greeks had a judicial system much like today people were chosen to sit on juries (What did democracy really mean?, 2015).However there wasn’t a cross examination and imprisonment was not used as a punishment, instead if someone was found guilty they either had to pay a fine or was put to death (ABC, 2003). A major difference is between Athenian democracy and modern day democracy is eligibility in Ancient Greece as only male adults were allowed to vote and had to adhere to strict birth criteria (Cartledge, 2011) this meant only 10-20% of the overall population were allowed to vote (What did democracy really mean?, 2015). Today the voting age varies however there is no discrimination between sexes in modern democratic governments. Another key difference is that Ancient Greece was a direct democracy whereas modern society is a representative democracy. This means that in Athens the whole citizen body would go to assembly and vote on every decision. Today we vote people to represent everyone and to make decisions on behalf of the whole body of
In 508 B.C, a civil war in Athens ceased; giving rise to a new democratic constitution under the leadership of Cleisthenes. The changes made under his leadership and other subsequent reforms resulted in a relatively radical form of government for the time known as democracy (Hyland Lecture, 26/09/2013). Democracy is a system of collective decision-making in which the participants have equality at least at one essential point of the decision making process (Christiano, “Democracy”). Furthermore, the term ‘democracy’, which comes from the Greeks, literally means rule by the people. The system of government, created by the Greeks, known as Democracy possessed many unique characteristics such as judicial review that have come to influence modern governments. The principle of equality allowed all Athenian citizens to participate in government on an equal level, a practice that as Plato pointed out is no longer feasible. Ancient Athenian democracy also utilized direct representation and did not distinguish political rights from individual rights. In this way, while Athenian democracy has influenced modern democracies through ideas such as equality and checks and balances, it cannot be said to be democratic in the modern sense of the term due to its utilization of institutions and promotion of values that no longer are applicable or desired in the modern realm of politics. Since the time of Athenian democracy, the world has experienced many intellectual movements including the enlightenment, Protestant Reformation, and the industrial revolution to name a few that have forced governments to change in response to new popular opinion and technology.
The term democracy comes from the Greek language and means "rule by the people."(Democracy Building 2012) The democracy in Athens represents the events leading up to modern day democracies. Like our modern democracy, the Athenian democracy was created as a reaction to a concentration and abuse of power by the rulers. Philosophers defined the essential elements of democracy as a separation of powers, basic civil rights, human rights, religious liberty and separation of church and state. The most current definition of a democracy is defined as a “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.”(Dictionary.com). The American democracy was greatly influenced by the Athenian democracy. The Founding Fathers of the American democracy borrowed ideas from the Athenian way of governing. Presently, Americans live in a democracy that is much different than that the Athenian democracy, and what the Founding Fathers of the American Democracy envisioned. Although there are some commonalities between Athens and what our Founding Fathers intended, there are major differences as well. Differences between the modern American democracy the Athenian democracy and what the Founding Fathers envisioned are size of the democracies, the eligibility of a citizen to participate in the democracy and how a citizen participated.
A memorable expression said by President Abraham Lincoln reads, “Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Democracy, is a derived from the Greek term "demos" which means people. It is a successful, system of government that vests power to the public or majority. Adopted by the United States in 1776, a democratic government has six basic characteristics: (i) established/elected sovereignty (where power and civic responsibility are exercised either directly by the public or their freely agreed elected representative(s)), (ii) majority rule(vs minority), (iii) (protects one’s own and reside with) human rights, (iv) regular free and fair elections to citizens (upon a certain age), (v) responsibility of
The Greeks system of democracy was an entirely new concept when it was created, and one that has had lasting affects as it continues to influence present day politics around the globe. Modern day democracies may very well not exist if it wasn’t for the success the Athenians had with democracy. Today we look back at these ancient civilizations and we try to better our current society by learning from their mistakes and building on their success.