Democracy in Ancient Athens and Middle Ages - Essay Example

This paper aims to discuss the overview of democratic theory from Athenian times to present time including the theories of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Stuart Mill and John Rawls. It discusses how democracy has developed throughout ages. DEMOCRATIC THEORY The term "Democracy" started in Ancient Athens in the 5th century BC, they were considered to be the "Cradle of Democracy". Democracy comes from two Greek words: demos which means "people" and kratein which means "to rule". These two words are joined together to form democracy, literally meaning "rule by the people". The definition of democracy has been expanded, however, to describe a philosophy that insists on the right and the capacity of a people, acting either directly or through representatives, to control their institutions for their own purposes. Such a philosophy places a high value on the equality of individuals and would free people as far as possible from restraints not self-imposed. It insists that necessary restraints be imposed only by the consent of the majority and that they are conventional to the principle of equality. Democracy in Ancient Athens In Athens, the citizens participated directly in making their laws. The Greek system of government was perhaps closer to a true democracy or rule by the people than any other history. Their civilization was broken down to into small city-states, and all the men voted on all issues of government. It was almost a total democracy except for the fact that women and slaves were not considered citizens and were not allowed to vote. The Greek system of democracy was ruled by a body of nine elected officials whom they called archons. These men who were aristocrats lead the government and had supreme control over all of the decree and criminal accusations in Athens. Problems took place when aristocrats became jealous of one another and rivalries developed under the early stages of Athenian democracy. The democracy of Athens was used in many ways other than it was designed for. It was abused by many rulers of that time. They were concerned with their own personal growth and because of their greed and selfishness they made laws and codes that would benefit their own personal gain. Perhaps they didn't get everything quite right for their time and place but they got enough right and there was enough contract to change with changing circumstances so that their civilization with all its arts and sciences succeed for 200 years until events, in the form of Alexander the Great, overcame them. Democracy in Middle Ages Though democracy was not directly instituted in the Middle Ages, many democratic ideas were ubiquitous throughout the period. Because Christianity, which taught that men were created equal in the eyes of God, was deeply entrenched into the society of the middle ages, the democratic idea of equality was understood by many people. However, the middle ages utilized another form of government, which was developed during this period called feudalism. Feudalism stressed that all people have certain rights and developed a system of courts to defend these rights. From these courts came the modern day judicial branch of the American government along with many of the ideas such as king councils, assemblies and eventually parliamentary systems. Thomas Hobbes Theory One of Hobbes theory is the State of Nature. To establish these conclusions, Hobbes invites us to consider what life would be like in a state of nature, that is, a condition without government. Perhaps we would imagine that people might fare best in such a state, where each decides for himself how to act, and is judge, jury and executioner in his own case whenever disputes arise-- and that at any rate, this state is the appropriate baseline against which to judge the justifiability of political arrangements. Hobbes terms this situation "the condition of mere nature", a state of perfectly private judgment, in which there is no agency with recognized authority to arbitrate disputes and effective power to enforce its decisions. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/) From that law of nature by which we are obliged to transfer to another such rights as, being retained, hinder the peace of mankind, there followeth a third; which is this: that men perform their covenants made; without which covenants are in vain, and but empty words; and the right of all men to all things remaining, we are still in the condition of war (Leviathan, Chapter 15). For Hobbes, moral and political philosophy was not merely academic exercises. He believed that they could be of tremendous practical importance. However, his writings are very bold. He published views that he knew would be strongly disliked by both parties to the English Civil War. He supported the king over Parliament, which earned him the enmity of those supporting Parliament, but he also denied the divine right of the king, which earned him the enmity of many royalists, though not of the king. Hobbes work can be seen as marking the transition from medieval to modern philosophy, from thought based on Christianity to thought based on scientific method and logic. His method is deductive not empirical and his view of human nature is deterministic and materialist. John Locke's Theory The intellectual fundamentals of modern constitutional democracy were laid during the European illumination, an 18th century philosophic movement marked by its rejection of traditional social, religious and political ideas and its importance on rationalism. One of its significant theorists was John Locke. In 1690 he published his seminal Two Treatises of Government. His assertion that all legitimate government rests upon "the consent of the governed" profoundly altered discussions of political theory and promoted the development of democratic institutions. With Locke's assertion of natural law, he rebutted the claim that government was an aspect of divinely ordained chain of being, specifically monarchy. He argued that natural law is identical with the law of God (Jeanne S. Holden). Doctrines of natural law evolved into the idea of natural rights, i.e., that all people have certain rights, including the right to life, to certain liberties, and to own property and keep the fruit of one's labor. Locke insisted that to secure these rights men in civil society should go through into a contract with their government. While the government has the right to make laws and to defend the commonwealth from foreign injury the citizen is bound to obey the law all for the public good. Locke emphasized that when any government becomes lawless and arbitrary, the citizen has the right to bring down the regime and institute a new government. John Stuart Mill's Theory John Stuart Mill's primary work on rights is "On Liberty". Mill's work on political philosophy has received a much more mixed response despite his respected contributions to philosophy and political economy. Some critics have been charged that Mill's liberalism was part of a political project to restrain democracy rather than foster. One of Mill's theories is the Tyranny of the Majority. A tyranny of majority typically arises when the majority finds some feature of a minority objectionable and the majority decides to use their political power to restrict the minority in some way. (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/ebarnes/242/242-sup-mill1.htm). Whether or not there is a very broad and inclusive franchise, majority rule may lead to a fear of so-called "tyranny of the majority". This refers to the possibility that a democratic system can empower elected representatives acting on behalf of the majority view to take action that oppresses a particular minority. This clearly has the potential to demoralize and destabilize the aspiration of democracy as empowerment of the citizenry as a whole. According to Mill, philosophy is based on psychology. His main work is "System of Logic". His own epistemology (only experience leads to knowledge) was not presented until 1865. He's one of the most important founders of liberalism. John Rawls Theory Rawls's political liberalism discards the traditional political theory objective of providing a philosophical explanation of liberal democracy. However, Rawls also seeks for a liberal political order sanctioned by citizens on grounds deeper than what he calls a "modus vivendi" compromise; he insists that a liberal political order based upon a modus vivendi is unstable. The aim for a pluralist and "freestanding" liberalism is at odds with the goal of a liberalism sanctioned as something deeper than a modus vivendi compromise among competing comprehensive doctrines. A liberalism that is supported "for its own sake" rather than as a compromise must necessarily be based on some conception of the good, of the sort that political liberalism eschews. Modern Democracy Another significant event in the history of democracy is the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence in 1776 is the first pace in America's search of democracy. In the document written by Thomas Jefferson, many ideas are taken from the aforementioned theorists. Jefferson borrowed from Locke the idea that all men are created equal, and he altered the right to life, liberty and property to "the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Revolutions started to recoil against monarchies all over the world and democratic governments started to build up. Almost all of the Western European monarchies had adopted a constitution limiting the power of the Royal Family and giving some power to the people before the end of the 19th century. Parliamentary type representative legislatures were also developed in many of these countries, giving the people more power to rule. Democracy became more and more popular with the growing success of democracy in the United States and in other countries throughout the world. In early 1950's, almost every independent country on the planet had a government that embodied some of the principles set forth by democracy. United States became the model nation for these principals. CONCLUSION Eventually, the meaning of democracy has developed, and the modern definition has mostly changed since the 18th century, in conjunction with the successive introduction of democratic systems in many nations. The meaning of democracy since the time of ancient Athens up to present has not been invariable. There are so many questions about democracy, for a time by definition no one within a democracy is to have special privileges. As a whole, democracy is to accommodate all groups of people, regardless of how unalike they may be to one another. It may be that democracy can only work where the great mass of people are alike, or at least striving to be alike. There are many refined classifications of the term "democracy", some theoretical and some realized. Democracy might be an old principle, but it isn't conventional. Around the world those countries without democracy, heartily wish they had this best form of government. REFERENCES The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Social Contract Theory. 27 July 2005 . Democracy: Classical authors of Political Philosophy. 27 July 2005 . John Rawls - Comment - Times Online. 27 July 2005 . Hobbes Moral and Political Philosophy. 27 July 2005 < http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hobbes-moral/>. Questia Online Library. Locke, Rousseau, and the idea of Consent An inquiry into the Liberal-Democratic Theory of Political Obligation. 27 July 2005 < http:// ww.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=15119797>. Supplemental Notes on John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty". 28 July 2005 Jeanne S. Holden. "What is Democracy". 28 July 2005 Thomas Hobbes. "Leviathan". 28 July 2005 Dahl, R. (1989), Democracy and its Critics, New Haven: Yale University Press . Read More