Comparing Athenian Democracy and Modern US Democracy
Jason Rochon
History 2321: World Civilizations I
May 25, 2016
As man progressed from a nomadic lifestyle into a more urban lifestyle, the need for some sort of structure arose. With cities forming and urban populations increasing, the need for law and order grew. Early civilizations developed varying forms of government to address the rising needs of urban city life. Of these forms of government, democracy is one that has endured the test of time, and has demonstrated its’ ability to govern not only small nations but large nations as well. This form of government was developed in Athens when a ruler named Cleisthenes created a “faction of the people.” This Athenian democracy …show more content…
Both have similar structures where power is given to the people in the form of participation. Each has defined city-states that act as a separate political entity from other city-states. Limited terms of office is another commonality between the two. The similarities do not end with the structure but also there are similarities how citizens view democracy and who should lead. The gravitation towards elitism being shared between many citizens of both democracies. The hunger for power and greed is ever-present in the likes of both democracies. In comparing Athenian democracy to modern US democracy, I believe that nothing fundamentally has changed, we just allow ourselves to believe things have changed. We change a few words, we loosen restrictions on participation just to provide the masses with the illusion of democracy. In the end, the Athenians gradually discovered that there will always be those that seek to gain power, and no matter what political system is in place there will be those that will discover ways to increase their individual power. This is apparent in modern US democracy as well, where many of the common people feel that their vote (participation) amounts to nothing when compared to the wealthy and the powerful who influence their representatives to do their
Jason Rochon
History 2321: World Civilizations I
May 25, 2016
As man progressed from a nomadic lifestyle into a more urban lifestyle, the need for some sort of structure arose. With cities forming and urban populations increasing, the need for law and order grew. Early civilizations developed varying forms of government to address the rising needs of urban city life. Of these forms of government, democracy is one that has endured the test of time, and has demonstrated its’ ability to govern not only small nations but large nations as well. This form of government was developed in Athens when a ruler named Cleisthenes created a “faction of the people.” This Athenian democracy …show more content…
Both have similar structures where power is given to the people in the form of participation. Each has defined city-states that act as a separate political entity from other city-states. Limited terms of office is another commonality between the two. The similarities do not end with the structure but also there are similarities how citizens view democracy and who should lead. The gravitation towards elitism being shared between many citizens of both democracies. The hunger for power and greed is ever-present in the likes of both democracies. In comparing Athenian democracy to modern US democracy, I believe that nothing fundamentally has changed, we just allow ourselves to believe things have changed. We change a few words, we loosen restrictions on participation just to provide the masses with the illusion of democracy. In the end, the Athenians gradually discovered that there will always be those that seek to gain power, and no matter what political system is in place there will be those that will discover ways to increase their individual power. This is apparent in modern US democracy as well, where many of the common people feel that their vote (participation) amounts to nothing when compared to the wealthy and the powerful who influence their representatives to do their