Maybe also the first to set down formal rules. Getting the boys together to make a decision is one thing. A rule that everybody has an equal say, and that it’s 50%+1 for a decision to be made is different. Also, rules about when people are allowed to vote, if they’re allowed to re-vote, what things require a 2/3s margin vs. just a majority. Even things like if you’re allowed to sell your vote, if you’re allowed to make a speech before you vote, if you’re allowed to wait to see how other people vote before you vote… There are a lot of things we take for granted about how the process works.
yep, they sure defined it. democracy is when a small fraction of the men get to make decisions for everyone, including the women, the poors and the slaves.
it clicks nicely with our modern western concept of democracy.
The way i remember it being thought in school, it seemed to imply that they created the fenomena of “people ruling”, that it didnt exist before them. If you went into more depth into the question, you would get to this reduced thesis that they only defined a system that was supposedly democratic. But most kids wont pay close attention, and this euro-centric propagada succeeds in forming their worldview.
I’ve always looked at it as they defined Democracy rather than made it.
Maybe also the first to set down formal rules. Getting the boys together to make a decision is one thing. A rule that everybody has an equal say, and that it’s 50%+1 for a decision to be made is different. Also, rules about when people are allowed to vote, if they’re allowed to re-vote, what things require a 2/3s margin vs. just a majority. Even things like if you’re allowed to sell your vote, if you’re allowed to make a speech before you vote, if you’re allowed to wait to see how other people vote before you vote… There are a lot of things we take for granted about how the process works.
yep, they sure defined it. democracy is when a small fraction of the men get to make decisions for everyone, including the women, the poors and the slaves.
it clicks nicely with our modern western concept of democracy.
The way i remember it being thought in school, it seemed to imply that they created the fenomena of “people ruling”, that it didnt exist before them. If you went into more depth into the question, you would get to this reduced thesis that they only defined a system that was supposedly democratic. But most kids wont pay close attention, and this euro-centric propagada succeeds in forming their worldview.