The limitations of Athenian democracy

Athenian democracy, also known as Athenian democracy, is a set of democratic system developed in the Greek city-state Athens (including the central city-state Athens and its surrounding Attica area) in 508 BC. Athens thus became one of the earliest democratic countries. [1] Although other Greek city-states have also established various democratic systems, and most of them have borrowed from Athens' model, they are not as strong, stable and clear as Athens' democratic system. Democracy in Athens can be seen as an experiment of direct democracy-because voters do not elect representatives of public opinion, but directly vote for legislative and administrative bills. [ 1]

Athenian democracy is a kind of local autonomy led by citizens, but it is still very different from modern democratic system. First of all, the right to participate in Athenian democracy is not based on residents as in modern times, and women and slaves in Attica do not have complete rights; [1] Secondly, the imperfection of the system leads to the very low efficiency of the government. Politicians often vilify each other through speeches for fame and fortune, and it is a fact that voters' public opinion will be greatly influenced by political satires staged in theaters. However, because the division of the right to participate had nothing to do with the economic class, the participation of the democratic voters in Athens at that time was already very high. This system has made great contributions to the development of Greek civilization. [ 1]

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Institutional characteristics

Political characteristics of Athens

The significance of Athenian democracy

The limitations of Athenian democracy

Institutional evolution

Its formation is the product of the disintegration of primitive society and the formation of slavery system, the struggle between clan nobles and civilians and the development of slavery economy. As early as the end of the 7th century BC, the contradiction between aristocrats and civilians in Athens had developed to a very acute degree. A nobleman is different from a monarch. Aristocracy is a system of collective leadership, which implements the principle of equal consultation and the minority obeys the majority.

In 594 BC, Solon, the arbitrator elected by both sides, reformed, abolished debt slavery (that is, all debts mortgaged by citizens of the polis), reclassified citizens of the polis according to the amount of property, improved the power of the citizens' assembly, and set up a 400-member conference and jury court as the highest administrative and judicial organs, which adjusted the interests of different classes in the citizens' collective and laid the foundation of democracy in Athens. The tyrannical rule of peisistratus (about the end of 7th century BC-527 BC) and his descendants (560 BC-5 BC10, with two interruptions) objectively attacked the gentry and nobles, improved the economic status of small farmers as citizens, and promoted the economic and cultural development of Athens. In 509 BC, the Christian Reform replaced the consanguineous organization as the administrative unit of the country, and replaced the 400-member meeting with the 500-member meeting, thus expanding its own authority. A team of 50 people was set up to handle daily administrative affairs, and a committee of ten generals was set up. This reform promoted the development of Athenian democracy, completely removed the obstacles of clan system, and marked the final establishment of Athenian democracy. An important measure in Cleisthenes is to formulate the "exile law of pottery pieces".

The victory of Bo Shi War greatly promoted the development of the slave ownership economy in Athens, caused the change of the power contrast between different classes of Athenian citizens, and led to the reform in Ephialtes in 462 BC (or 44 BC1year) and Pericles in 443 BC. These reforms deprived the aristocratic parliament composed of imperial consuls of power, and handed over the power to the citizens' assembly, the people's court and the 500-member parliament respectively, thus bringing the development of democratic politics to a new level. The military colonial system, various social welfare donations, subsidies to citizens and large-scale construction have enabled small producers, who account for the majority of citizens, to enjoy a certain guaranteed material and spiritual life. During the reign of Pericles (443 BC-429 BC), Athens reached its peak in economy, politics and culture, and became a hegemonic country and the main cultural center to control the situation in the Greek world.

The Characteristics of Athenian Democracy during Pericles's Administration;

1, official positions at all levels (except ten generals) are open to the public by lottery;

2. The 500-member conference is governed by the people's jury, and the aristocratic conference loses all political rights;

3. Pay wages or subsidies to citizens who hold public office or engage in city-state activities. In the past, nobles were in power for free, so it was difficult for civilians to hold public office by income.