What's Wrong with Democracy? From Athenian Practice to American Worship

329 Pages·2004·2.21 MB·English

by  Loren J. Samons II

What’s Wrong with Democracy?

What’s Wrong with
Democracy?
from athenian practice
to american worship
Loren J.Samons II
university of california press
berkeley los angeles london
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2004 by the Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Samons, Loren J.
What’s wrong with democracy? : from Athenian prac-
tice to American worship / Loren J. Samons II.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–520–23660–2 (cloth : alk. paper).
1. Democracy—History. 2. Direct democracy—
Greece—Athens. 3. Republicanism—United States—
History. 4. Representative government and representa-
tion—United States. 5. Political culture—United
States—History. 6. United States—Civilization—Greek
influences. I. Title.
JC421.S32 2004
321.8—dc22 2004008500
Manufactured in the United States of America
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and
totally chlorine-free (tcf). It meets the minimum
requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r1997)
(Permanence of Paper).
To Jim and Brendan

For it is not at all pleasant to rail at incurable practices and
errors that are far developed,though sometimes it is necessary.
the athenian
Plato,Laws 660c–d (trans.Thomas L.Pangle)
boswell:
So,Sir,you laugh at schemes of political
improvement?
johnson:
Why,Sir,most schemes of political improvement
are very laughable things. s. johnson
Boswell’s Life of Johnson
. . . democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by
the people for the people. o. wilde
Soul of Man under Socialism
. . . a state in which the mass of citizens is free to do whatever
it pleases or takes into its head is not a democracy [but rather
mob-rule].But where it is both traditional and customary to
reverence the gods,to care for our parents,to respect our elders,
to obey the laws,and in such a community to ensure that the
will of the majority prevails—this situation it is proper to
describe as a democracy. polybius6.4
(trans.Ian Scott-Kilvert)
socrates:
What device could we find to make our rulers,
or at any rate the rest of the city,believe us if we told them a
noble lie,one of those necessary untruths of which we have
spoken? . . . Can you suggest any device which will make our
citizens believe this story?
glaucon:
I cannot see any way to make them believe it
themselves,but the sons and later generations might,both
theirs and those of other men. plato
Republic414b–c,415c–d (trans.G.M.A.Grube,adapted)
mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. daniel 5:25

contents
list of maps and illustrations xi
preface xiii
abbreviations xix
Introduction 1
1 Athenian Society and Government 19
Athens and Polis Government 20
Athens after Solon’s Reforms 26
Athenian History in the Classical Period 31
2 Democracy and Demagogues:
Election, Voting, and Qualifications for Citizenship 41
Qualifications for Citizenship 45
Did the Demos RuleWell? 49
Leaders versus Demagogues:The Case of Pericles 54
Modern Confusion about Election 68
3 Public Finance:
Democracy and the People’s Purse 72
The Spoils of Battle and the Fruits of the Earth (483/2–431) 73
War, Taxes, Debt, and Revolution (431–399) 85
Digression: Democracy and the Athenian Self-Image 92
Epilogue: Paying the Public or Funding the Military? (399–322) 95
4 Foreign Policy I: Democracy Imperial 100
Early Athenian Ambitions in the Aegean (ca. 561–490) 101
The PersianWars and the Creation of the Athenian Empire (ca. 490–463) 105
Reversed Alliances and Continuing Expansion (ca. 462/1–430s) 111