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Although it is useful to have the people to have power in their voice, their taxes are what are used to create that opportunity. . Only in ancient Athens and in the United States so far has democracy lasted for as much as two hundred years. In Athens, all citizens were equal before the law. “Democracy is the worst form of government,” warned Winston Churchill, “except for all of the others.”. Pericles (Greek: Περικλῆς, Periklēs, "surrounded by glory"; c. 495 – 429 BC) was the most prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during the Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. Now an amendment limits the number of terms that the executive branch can serve. . These reasons include Pericles’ rise to power, the different members of government and their powers, and the changes in the idea of a democracy. A democracy allows an individual to cast a vote either directly or through a preferred representative on the issues that the government must manage. We have no need of a Homer to praise us or of anyone else whose words will delight us for the moment but whose account of the facts will be discredited by the truth. Some states in the U.S. are even becoming polarized as families keep moving to stay within their comfort zone. 5. A dynasty or tyranny or clique may be deposed, but it is invariably replaced by another or by a chaotic anarchy that ends in the establishment of some kind of command society. Least of all did it suit the open, democratic society that Athens had already become by the time Pericles was born. Most poleis had aristocratic or oligarchic governments, but they were ruled by laws arrived at in discussions in the sovereign assemblies, and they were executed by councils and magistrates selected by the citizens from among themselves. He was known for developing democracy in Athens by giving labor fees for the people working for the government (Littel, M.,2004). 3. Beyond those advantages, its early champions tried to show that the polis was necessary for civilized life, and therefore deserved the highest sacrifice. His policies were intended to make it possible for any person regardless of socioeconomic status to serve in the government. It says some 85,000 “common” English words have Greek origins.) When a democracy which is thirsting for freedom has evil cupbearers presiding over the feast, and has drunk too deeply of the strong wine of freedom, then, unless her rulers are very amenable and give a plentiful draught, she calls them to account and punishes them, and says that they are cursed oligarchs. In contrast, Pericles points to the limited jurisdiction of the Athenian regime, which leaves a considerable space for individualism and privacy, free from public scrutiny: “Not only do we conduct our public life as free men but we are also free of suspicion of one another as we go about our every-day lives. But a free and democratic people, one not constantly fearful of deadly rebellions by furious helots, cannot simply be told permanently to subordinate their personal pursuits to the needs of society. 8. Centralized government structures can make declarations on rules, regulations, or responses that are not always possible in a democratic structure. According to Pericles, the speaker needs to please friends and strangers, with both parties having opposite needs. When the majority can pull the strings of society without there being legislation in place to protect the rights of the minority, then it creates a severe risk of oppression. Pericles Funeral Oration comes to us from Thucydides's famous History of the Pelopennesian War.Following the war's first campaign, the people of Athens asked Pericles, the republic's first citizen, to give a speech praising those who had fallen in the conflict. Instead, it opened the competition for excellence and honor to all, removing the accidental barriers imposed in other constitutions and societies: “Our city is called a democracy because it is governed by the many, not the few. We are used to thinking very highly of democracy – and by extension, of Ancient Athens, the civilisation that gave rise to it. In short, I say that as a city we are the school of Hellas; while I doubt if the world can produce a man, who where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility as the Athenian. The tale tells us much about Greek values. Pericles extols the virtues of Athens and her democracy – he even goes so far as to … That ensures that the interests of each segment of society can receive the protection they need while providing a higher level of accountability for the governing actions which occur. 6. There are times when a complete majority of a single party can win an election, but even then, there can be enough disagreement within the ranks that compromises must happen. That is why Pericles could make this extraordinary demand on them when the great war came: “You must every day look upon the power of your city and become her lovers [erastai] and when you have understood her greatness consider that the men who achieved it were brave and honorable and knew what was necessary when the time came for action. The structure of democracy makes it possible for everyone to stay fruitful with their work because they are always employing their strengths. Sparta’s system appealed especially to aristocrats, such as the young men who conversed with Socrates in the gymnasia. It was a vision that exalted the individual within the political community not by what it gave him but by what it expected of him. Pericles ushered in what is considered “radical democracy.” This meant that ordinary Athenian citizens were paid by the state to participate in public affairs. We alone regard the man who takes no part in politics not as someone who minds his own business but as useless. Pericles believed that democracy, because it is rule by citizens, required citizens to be informed and to have a direct interest in affairs of state. Overall, while there is reason to believe that Pericles praised a mixed constitution, it is more plausible that the oration was purely praising Athenian democracy. Xenophon gives a good example of the absence of any privacy in Sparta: “In other cities whenever a man shows himself to be a coward his only punishment is that he is called a coward. Second, Pericles himself not only supported democracy but also advanced a theoretical argument in its favor. Even when there is disagreement in the community, everyone still has the common ground of their nation to fall back upon when forming their identity. We must remember that some classes of people in the U.S. have only had the right to vote for less than a century – including women. The unique activities during the funeral oration of Pericles depict the culture of the Athenians. An understanding of that reality should give pause to any who may think that democracy is the natural polity of mankind and that its establishment and success are assured once despotic or “reactionary” rule has been removed. Part of the answer lay in a quality of life unknown elsewhere, a range of activities that brought the pleasures of prosperity to the appetite, joy and wonder to the spirit, stimulation to the intellect, and pride to the soul. Here Pericles has identified a critical element of his vision for Athens: its commitment to reason and intelligence. More fully, and therefore at greater length, Pericles did the same thing. But these benefits, important as they were, did not appeal to the most basic spiritual need of all, the need for kleos and immortality. We do not wear ourselves out in advance of future troubles, and when they come we show ourselves no less bold than those who are always in training. The French and American revolutions extended citizenship more generously than in Greece, ultimately excluding only children from political participation. “The right to vote is a consequence, not a primary cause, of a free social system,” said Ayn Rand, “and its value depends on the constitutional structure implementing and strictly delimiting the voters’ power; unlimited majority rule is an instance of the principle of tyranny.”. .But in Sparta anyone would be ashamed to dine or to wrestle with a coward. The average citizen could not look even to his polis for the satisfaction of his greatest spiritual needs. Plato asserted that democracy unjustly “distributes a sort of equality to equal and unequal alike” (Republic 55C), and Aristotle later claimed that in democracies justice “is the enjoyment of arithmetical equality, and not the enjoyment of proportionate equality on the basis of merit” (Politics 1317b). “Neither rich man nor poor is prevented from taking part in politics by the pursuit of his economic interests, and the same people are concerned both with their own private business and with political matters; even those who turn their attention chiefly to their own affairs do not lack judgment about politics. To shape that vision and persuade others of its virtues, Pericles needed to overcome the attractive force of two earlier views of the best human life. The more immediate challenge to the democratic vision came from Sparta. 9. In Pericles’s edition of democracy, it is freedom which is presented before all other things as the foundation of the democratic city-state – just as Plato also is pointing at and criticizes in the Republic. With brilliant brevity Lincoln answered some questions by pointing to the greatness of the cause at issue. .” (2 43. l-2). We obey those who hold office and the laws themselves, especially those enacted for the protection of the oppressed and those which, although unwritten, it is acknowledged shame to violate” (2.37.3). The goal of a politician is to receive the most votes. Nonetheless, some women, known as hetaeras, did receive an education with the specific purpose of entertaining men, similar to the Japanese geisha tradition. Everyone contributes in their own way, which this governing structure celebrates. The views on the relative advantages and disadvantages of Athenian democracy vary greatly in the two primary documents. If we had access to Pericles’ inner thoughts and to the many other speeches he delivered in his long career, we would possibly discover that he took no less pride in Athenians’ peaceful achievements of mind and spirit. The aristocrat believed that the poor were not free, because their poverty deprived them of leisure and, therefore, of the opportunity to take part in public life. There is more unity in the governing process with democracy because the general population holds the right to vote on resolutions. Above all, Pericles helped the Athenians to understand that their private needs, both moral and material, required the kind of community Athens had become. Democracy is one of the least cost-efficient forms of governing that exists today. Pericles Source: “Building Democracy,” Roger B. Beck et al., World History: Patterns of Interaction, McDougal Littell Selection from “The Funeral Oration of Pericles” recorded in History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Born to a powerful Athenian family, Pericles showed interest in philosophy and art even as a young man. Some time in the eighth century the polis emerged, and its needs at once came into conflict with the old heroic ethos. A democracy encourages equality in a positive way. Helicanus explains that Pericles has not spoken in three months, and Lysimachus says he knows someone in his city who may be able to make him talk. Even when that idea runs counter to what the majority wants or falls outside of an expected window of morality, there is an ability to express those ideas assuming that others are not hurt by such an effort. For trade and the manufacture of whatever they needed, the Spartans relied on the perioikoi–people who lived in free communities, gave control of foreign policy to the Spartans, and served under Spartan command in the army. There is no direction as to how voters approach this responsibility. In 431 BCE, at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, held their traditional public funeral for all those who had been killed. That is why families keep making mortgage or rental payments, managers continue to reinforce their expertise, and politicians do their best to stay in power. At times, the third qualification is the most important and can compensate for weaknesses in the other two. He says that Athens has an additional advantage, which is that its citizens are free of hardship outside of wartime. He was the son of the politician Xanthippus, who, though ostracized in 485–484 BC, returned to Athens to command the Athenian contingent in the Greek victory at Mycale just five years later. 1. They did not believe that man was entirely trivial, a mere bit of dust in the vast Cosmic order, such that his passing was a thing of no account. If they ever failed in some attempt, they were determined that, at least, their city should not be deprived of their courage [arete] and gave her the most beautiful of all offerings. By sharing in the common responsibility he was able to develop powers and aspects of himself that allowed him to become more fully human than he could have on his own. The time and currency resources that are necessary to conduct an election can cost billions of dollars. Courage, strength, military prowess, persuasiveness, cunning, beauty, wealth: these were examples of arete, the excellent qualities of the good, the fortunate, the happy man. The story of the Athenians in the time of Pericles suggests that the creation and survival of democracy requires leadership of a high order. Washington, DC 20036, Main telephone: 202.862.5800 There is more consistency available in democracy than other government structures. No one wants to be stuck on the outside looking in when it comes to governing. “First,” he said, ‘I shall make clear through what practices we have come to our present position and with what political constitution and way of life our city has become great.” The institutions are democratic, but Pericles’ explanation of what that means is a refutation of the attacks made by the enemies of democracy. He thought that parents made better judges of policy because having children gave them a greater stake in the well-being of the state. Democracy was more immediate and direct in the Greek context, with the relatively smaller population better able to meet to debate and decide issues and so to have a clearer tie to the democratic process. Although limited to adult males of native parentage, Athenian citizenship granted full and active participation in every decision of the state without regard to wealth or class. Plato recognized that the freedom afforded by the Athenian democracy seemed pleasant to many people, but his own judgment was less friendly: Democracy is “an agreeable, anarchic form of society, with plenty of variety, which treats all men as equal, whether they are equal or not” (Republic 558C). By winning an election, it becomes possible to establish legitimacy for political candidates or referendums that other forms of governing cannot provide. It contained a clear, if often implicit, contrast with the Spartan way of life, which so many Greeks admired but which Pericles regarded as inferior to the Athens he portrayed. It encourages centrism more than extremism. Athenian Democracy . Each person gets the chance to express their view at their polling stations by casting a vote. The highest reward is the kind of immortality that was once reserved for epic heroes but which now has come to the Athenian soldiers who have died in the service of their city, and which Pericles urges the living to earn for themselves: “They gave their lives for the common good and thereby won for themselves the praise that never grows old and the most distinguished of all graves, not those in which they lie, but where their glory remains in eternal memory, always there at the right time to inspire speech and action. Pericles defines the character of Athenian democracy, identifying features we might overlook. . When there is an incentive to offer everything without the requirement to fulfill your word, then you’ll see more lies than truth in the daily conversations about governing that occur. Democracies give people a chance to become personally involved with their government. She has written an important book, Systemic Corruption: Constitutional Ideas for an Anti-Oligarchic Republic, and says the U.S. is an “oligarchic democracy,” a system designed to serve some but not all. An ambitious imperial project has enormous costs, of course, but it isn’t clear that Athens ever really paid the price because of Pericles. Aside from its value as a study in political greatness, therefore, Pericles’ career offers instruction in how a new and fragile democracy can be brought to maturity. Instead, we put our trust not in secret weapons, but in our own courage when we are called upon to act. In the few of his speeches we have, Pericles spoke chiefly of the empire and military glory, and these were certainly important values to him and the Athenians. send our content editing team a message here, 19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Fast Food, 34 Best Nursing Resume Objective Statement Examples, 50 Most Asked Assistant Principal Interview Questions with Answers, 31 Best Clerical Resume Objective Statement Examples, 40 Most Asked Burger King Interview Questions with Answers, 40 Most Asked Librarian Interview Questions with Answers, 100 Most Asked Mechanical Engineer Interview Questions with Answers, 40 Most Asked Security Guard Interview Questions with Answers, 30 Impressive Sales Manager Resume Objective Statement Examples, 33 Impressive Office Assistant Resume Objective Statement Examples, The 100 Most Asked Salesforce Admin Interview Questions with Answers. There may only be 1-2 legislative bills that come through in an entire session that go beyond the typical budgets, committees, and nominations that officials manage. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. The Presidential elections every four years in the United States are measured in the billions. Democracies prevent elected officials from ignoring the needs of the general population to help themselves. What Americans in the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries all have in common is that at no time has anything other than some form of democracy/republic gained even … Liberals would make the same point when discussing LGBTQIA+ rights. Every ballot is an opportunity to express one’s personal opinion. Elections usually involve the opinions or thoughts of each person based on what individuals want for themselves. Even Vladimir Lenin felt that democracy was the goal of communism, using a dictator to control the proletariat until such a status became possible. Wars were frequent, and in order to survive and flourish each polis required devotion and sacrifice from its citizens. 6. Most people work to retain what they have after it is earned. The ruling documents in this structure create checks and balances to assure that no single person receives supreme power over the legislative process. The Spartans, from their earliest childhood, seek to acquire courage by painfully harsh training, but we, living our unrestricted life, are no less ready to meet the same dangers they do. The citizen of a free society has the right to ask, Why should I risk my life for my city? 1. Whether that voice lands in the majority or not, there is an agreement in a democracy that the tally of the vote stands unless there is a clear moral objection to the outcome. Nor did they believe in personal immortality, in which death is a blessing, a release from a painful and wretched life and admission to paradise. In a battle between the Athenians and their neighbors near Eleusis, he came to the aid of his fellow-citizens, turned the enemy to rout, and died most nobly. Conservatives in the United States would argue that it is challenging to vote for the average Democrat because of their views on abortion. As Lakoff (1996) writes, 4. It was an established Athenian practice by the late 5th century BC to hold a public funeral in honour of all those who had died in war. People often talk about countries "becoming" democracies, once they start to have relatively free and open elections. Someone can turn in a ballot that is a straight-party ticket with no consideration about the individual views or needs. This new kind of government was carried to its classical form by the reforms of Pericles a half-century later, and it was in the Athens shaped by Pericles that the greatest achievements of the Greeks took place. The United States uses a centralized form of governing, but there are equal powers distributed between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Twenty-five hundred years later we remember him and his fellow-Athenians precisely because of their devotion to this great civic endeavor. In early Athens, as in most of the Greek cities, political participation came to represent a crucial distinction between a free man and gentleman on the one hand, and a slave or churl on the other. In fact, under Pericles, there were plenty of successful campaigns, a consolidating of the empire, and some charges laid against the Spartans towards whom Pericles urged war were exactly correct. 7. But most of the citizens, even in undemocratic states, had no such opportunities. “Remember,” Will Rogers reportedly warned, “democracy never lasts long. Although some people will educate themselves on each issue to offer an experienced opinion, there is no requirement to go through all of this work. In a direct democracy, every decision would be placed to a vote for a supreme level of control. The Spartan imposed a property qualification for participation in public life; any Athenian citizen could sit on juries or the council and vote and speak in the assembly. This outcome occurs because each job is either directed by the people or filled by someone who won an election. Voters have an opportunity to change their elected officials every 2-6 years as a way to control their destiny. It even takes more time at the local level to make decisions with democracy because each referendum must go to the voters. The choice remains with your voice. He had made the strategic judgment that the empire as it stood was large enough to meet all the city’s needs. President Teddy Roosevelt reportedly once said this: “A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”. But we have these speeches because Thucydides reported them, and his subject was war. Democracies encourage mob thinking because every election becomes an “us vs. them” edict. Pericles’ vision was the culmination of a long process whereby the polis had tried to impose its communal, civic values on a society that had always been organized by family, clan, and tribe. Although all the men of the Spartiate class were called homoioi (peers), the kings had special privileges, and there was a class of noblemen distinct from the others. “Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality,” said Alexis de Tocqueville. Pericles' view was obviously a very idealized one, and it ignored the realities of party factionalism, selfishness, and arrogance that were to soon manifest after his death. They do not copy anyone else form of government, but run theirs in a unique way. It challenges them to represent the needs of each community so that everyone receives an equal opportunity to pursue their dreams. All government formations are sensitive to exploitation because of the people who get elected into powerful positions. The new democracies will, therefore, need leaders in the Periclean mold, leaders who know that the aim and character of true democracy should be to elevate their citizens to the highest attainable level, and that cutting down the greatest to assuage the envy of the least is the way of tyranny. Some even give voters the option to not vote if that is what they feel is the best way to express their opinion. In essence, radical democracy marked the outcome of a logical progression in Athenian political thought. From time to time the helots would break out in revolt, threatening the very existence of Sparta. Pericles, Cimon, and Democracy . The willingness to perform military service for his homeland is the most fundamental and demanding duty of the citizen. The Funeral Oration has become one of the most famous and influential passages in Thucydides’ work; it offers a stirring tribute to the culture of Athens, to democracy a… Democracy favors the majority of the people, not just a select few. Democracies give people a chance to become personally involved with their government. It limited the scope and power of the state, leaving enough space for individual freedom, privacy, and the human dignity of which they are a crucial part. The first is to have a set of good institutions; the second is to have a body of citizens who possess a good understanding of the principles of democracy, or who at least have developed a character consistent with the democratic way of life; the third is to have a high quality of leadership, at least at critical moments. Few can rely upon strong democratic traditions, and all suffer economic conditions that range from bad to disastrous. ... What does Pericles say about the military strength of Athens? What history does not always remember is that the Roman Empire once had a working democracy during the early years of their existence. He was descended, through his mother, from the powerful and historically influential Alcmaeonid family. Optimists may believe that democracy is the inevitable and final form of human society, but the historical record shows that up to now it has been the rare exception. Marina is brought to the ship, and she tells Pericles … It was still open to each man to seek satisfaction in the pursuit of his own interests and those of his family, if necessary at the expense of the polis. It is clear that Pericles views democracy as the best form of government and having adopted it, he views Athens as superior to their fellow city states. American Enterprise Institute Definition of Democracy. And after a life spent in what among our people passes for comfort, he died most gloriously. To succeed, they need a vision of the future that is powerful enough to sustain them through bad times as well as good and to inspire the many difficult sacrifices that will be required of them. The Athenians, on the other hand, respected a broader and fairer concept of the law, with no less reverence: “While we are tolerant in our private lives, in public affairs we do not break the law chiefly because of our respect for it. The rewards conferred by these aristocratic virtues are precisely those sought by the epic heroes: greatness, power, honor, fame. That means processes slow down to the point where it can take several years to create significant changes. Their national poet, Tyrtaeus, specifically rejected the Homeric values and replaced them with a single definition of arete: the courage to stand bravely in the ranks of a hoplite phalanx fighting for Sparta. An even greater substitution for the glories of war could be found in the exercise by each Athenian of his political duties. We are superior in this way, too, that we are the most daring in what we undertake at the same time as we are the most thoughtful before going about it, while with others it is ignorance that brings boldness and thought that makes them hesitate. Each job is either directed by the people, ensuring that all members of a country or a are! At their polling stations by casting a vote few can rely upon strong democratic traditions, and its needs once... Gave their lives for the government must agree on the issues that the Roman empire once had a democracy... Mentioned in one of the highest value in themselves held all rights and advantages, such as access education! To an aristocratic family surface of oppression of its own system compared to Sparta ’ democratic! 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