Athenian democracy

Elizabeth Kolbert's article, “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds,” in the New Yorkers February 2017 issue looks at some main ideas in three different psychological books about patterns in human reasoning and attempts to connect them to today’s politics. Her explanation of the studies and their outcomes were superb, though she could have done a better job at connecting these points to her political conclusion. It is difficult to distinguish what her main point is. She starts the article by…

Socrates—the Greek philosopher once stated, “the unexamined life is not worth living,” as he stood on trial for encouraging introspection among the masses. How many of us live the life we chose versus the life we find ourselves in due to a predetermined path, circumstances or societal pressures? I for one, belong to the second cases. In 2003, my parents and I immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia after winning a Diversity Visa (DV) lottery. This life changing opportunity came with its own…

James Madison and Alexis de Tocqueville are both giants in American political theory and both have deliberated extensively on the tyranny of the majority in democratic societies. Since both are from different eras, the way each of them talk about the problem is framed in different terms and different contexts. Madison offers a solution to a perceived problem, and Tocqueville observes and critiques the solution. In the many Federalist Papers Madison published on the issue, there is one solution…

Introduction The social changes that have taken place over the decades have led to a rising social phenomenon across all societies in the 21st century – the increasing trend of solo living. In his book Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, Eric Klinenberg highlights that people today are choosing to live alone simply “because [they] can”. Rebelling against the traditional beliefs that social distance brings about concerns for the fabric of society, Klinenberg…

Politicians usually use directives and commissives in their political speeches. Perhaps, the commissives are even present to a greater extent than directives because the main characteristic of commissives is to express what the speaker intends to do. They are used by politicians to commit themselves to some future action. Like other politicians, Donald Trump also uses commissives in his political speeches. To restrict illegal immigration, President Trump has promised to build a wall on the…

After reading some of the characteristic doctrines of the Enlightenment, I figured they focused on addressing issues of power and dominance of monarchy, aristocrats, and tyrant over the colonies. I find those who embodied Enlightenment as philosophers with determination and are optimistic. When it comes to ideas, the freedom to think gives them room to get facts most of which they put into writing. Reasoning gives one the opportunity to observe, experiment and practice before making a decision.…

Government involvement is crucial in society. For a nation and its citizens to prosper, government intervention must be imposed. The source which is presented is a quote said by Jean Chretien, who was the former prime minister of Canada, claiming that an influential leader is aware of political systems and as well as, economical operations. Jean Chretien possesses a liberal ideology. He is a communist and his views are left-wing on the spectrum, as in, he claims a prominent leader should…

eventually everything got out of hand and the King was overruled. The Roman Empire turned into being a republic. They didn’t want to be ruled over by a king, they wanted to make their own decisions, their own laws, and they want to have their own democracy. One challenge when there is a republic is meeting the common good. Now looking back on everything ancient room only somewhat not the common good In their empire. Providing Public Services In Rome, they had things that were provided…

Fighting Voter Suppression Voter suppression is a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing people from exercising the right to vote. As states keep passing voter suppression laws, our voting rights remain being attacked. Many states, California for example, make their citizens believe that after any contact with the criminal justice system means they have lost their right to vote. The whole reason for making people believe this is so people of color will…

Throughout history the establishment of a democracy has often been a goal of a nation’s citizens. Unfortunately, when restrained by the grip of tyranny the resulting fight for such a cause is often met with the bloodshed of innocent people. The birth of America, even, was done so by taking up arms against tyrannical and unfair rulers. History seems to always repeat itself. In March 2011, pro-democracy protests broke out in Syria demanding the resignation of its nation’s abusive president…