The discussion of Western Europe got my mind spinning on many subjects from past schooling. In early High School, I was fascinated by the stories of elite Roman women who would have contraptions built so as to be able to experience coitus with horses only to find out a vast majority of the elite population was ill from high concentration of lead from early water pipes and little variation in blood lines from sibling love.
Knowing that it was more appropriate to keep the blog PG, I went to the more obvious option, the history of Democracy, and how we can compare the beginnings, or Athenian Democracy versus the Modern Democracy that we know in the states today (and yes I realize that many folks will say our government is not a Democracy, but that is a different blog for a different class).
Most importantly, it should be noted that Athenian Democracy was unique in that in order for the government to work effectively, the citizens had to meet a specific set of criteria, two preconditions to be exact. The first precondition was that the population must be small enough for all members of that population to participate in the legislative process. The second precondition was that the local lifestyle had to allow time for citizens to participate in the process (Gascoigne, 2015).
During the 5th Century BC, Greece was made up of small colonies, which allowed for the experiment to be possible. Each colony, or city state, was made up of a limited number of citizens and was regional enough to allow for a stand-alone government to be possible (not withstanding that each of the city states were each culturally different….think of the movie “300” and Sparta and the separation from the rest of Greece). These colonies were often times separated by physical land masses such as mountains or vast bodies of water, which meant little migration between and smaller populations. War was common and was another form of population control (Gascoigne, 2015)
The second pre-condition of having time to participate was rather easy for the country’s elite. Slaves were used for nearly all manual labor in early Greece, from house cleaning to taking care of children. As with modern day politics, the most involved citizens were for the most part the wealthy and elite, giving the citizens ample time to participate in the legislative game. With the Greek colonies having met the criteria, early democracy was borne (Gascoigne, 2015).
The early democracy wasn’t really a representation of the population. In order to be part of the decision making legislation, a citizen had to be male, over the age of 18 and borne to both an Athenian father and mother, of pure breed. At the time the democracy experiment began, only 20% of the countries 300K citizens met the criteria set forth to participate in the legislative process. Of that 20%, only a select few could actually participate. Early democracy gave people a voice, but it was limited to the few who spoke for the whole (Gascoigne, 2015)
Modern Democracy, or what is commonly known as the American Democracy, has many similarities to the early Athenian Democracy that was successful for only a short period of time. The differences between the two can be a long list, but the similarities between are the most intriguing, especially when discussing the earliest periods of US History.
Those similarities (Gascoigne, 2015):
- Early legislatures (better known as politicians) were men over the age of 18
- These men were wealthy, most commonly through land ownership and other commodities
- These men had ample time to participate in the legislative process, as many were owners of vast numbers of slaves who ran the day to day business
- Women were not eligible to vote, and had little input into the legislative process
- The colonies were small enough in population that States were given rights that were individual to the Federal Government legislation, with the caveat that the Federal Government over road state level legislation
When we read about the stories of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride or picture George Washington chopping down a cherry tree (and subsequently telling on himself for doing so), it generally does not provide imagery of men in skimpy clothing, muscled up and screaming at the enemy. However, the governments were eerily similar and the fighting the same. Modern warfare just happened to lead to more fashion friendly clothing for those participating in battle.
The differences between the two are just as vast. Most importantly, the current form of Democracy practiced in the United States is a Constitutional Democracy. We have a Federal document, and then subsequent State documents, that outline the path of our government and help to determine what is legal and best for the citizens of our country. This document can be changed by a majority vote of elected legislatures (politicians) who each represent a group of citizens from an area. In our Democracy, there are two levels of Federal legislatures, the Senate and the Congress, each with equal say and the ability to ensure the other does not wield all the power (Gascoigne, 2015).
The make-up of our modern voting population is substantially different as well. While the evolution of the process took a significant amount of time, women and minorities, as long as they meet the other voting criteria (being a US Citizen – whether naturalized or born), are allowed to vote and have a heavy influence in the voting outcome. At the same time, the current legislature is made up members from various age, gender and race demographics.
The representation is much different as well. According to the Census Bureau, there are approximately 215 million eligible voters in the United States, which represents 65% of the United States population per the 2012 Census. In a more staggering statistic, there are more eligible women voters currently than males, although by a small percentage. Of the voting population, 52% of those eligible are female. In total, 61% of eligible voters take part in the democratic process (Census Bureau, 2015).
A true majority has the ability to vote for those who will represent them in Congress. There are currently 435 members in the House of Representatives (lower house) and 100 members of the United States Senate (upper house). Together, these two bodies direct the legislative body of our government (Census Bureau, 2015).
Overall, things are vastly different between the two societies, but the similarities are stark, especially in the early periods of Modern Democracy. While lead pipes and inbreeding haven’t crippled our society as of yet (and probably will not), there are those naysayers who point out that every great society has failed at some point. I hope that the continual evolution of our process, and the inclusion of more citizens, will ensure our democracy is around long after I have departed this world. Although it is pretty cool to think about taking part in a “300” style battle…as long as it is in a video game.
Works Cited
Census Bureau. (2015, April 11). Voting and Registration. Retrieved from US Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/index.html
Gascoigne, B. (2015, April 11). History of Democracy. Retrieved from History : http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2640&HistoryID=ac42>rack=pthc
AJ Powell says
It’s sad to say this, but the united states does not practice democracy anymore… the nation is an oligarchy now, and is no longer classified as a democracy. It does not listen to its people, nor represent them, nor practice what is best for them. It represents itself, and practices what is only in its own best interests now… Far gone are the days when the people owned the nation, for now, the nation owns them.
Otherwise, good article. 🙂 It was well-written.
Jeslynn Theresa Puskar says
What a great article! I am impressed how you were able to make so many connections and I had never really thought about where democracy came from until now. I was also amazed to read the statistics you provided regarding our current voting population. Around 460 B.C., under the rule of general Percicles, Athenian democracy began to evolve into an aristocracy (Ancient Greek Democracy). What is interesting is that Herodotus called this “the one man, the best”, which kind of reminds me of the concept of a President. Though democratic ideals and processes did not survive in ancient Greece, you are right, that they have been influencing politicians and governments ever since! I know you mentioned that one precondition was that the population must be small enough for all members of the population to participate in the legislative process and that there were physical separations, and I was wondering if the physical separation between colonies was a major factor in the creation of the democratic process itself. What do you think? Great article, thank you for sharing.
References
Ancient Greek Democracy. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-greece-democracy