The Origins of Democracy

Ever since there have been leaders, nations have explored the field of civil administration for the most effectual form of government, by which to rule their homeland. Today, most societies in the Western World generally agree that democracy is the best form of government. As a result, their outlook upon the first great democratic system in Western civilization is largely affected by their own predilection. Others, however, can see major flaws in Athenian democracy. These opposing stances are no recent development. The positives and negatives of this form of government have been argued and deliberated ever since it first transpired, nearly 25 centuries ago. Indeed, most of the criticism made of democracy today was already made then, and still has yet to be resolved.

The word democracy comes from two Greek words: the first is a noun, "demos," which means "people," and the second is a verb, "kratein," which means "to rule." Its basic meaning is "government by the people" or "ruled by the ruled." Its derivation refers back to ancient Greece, more precisely, the 5th century city-state of Athens, the author and first practitioner of democracy. As for the 4,000 years before that time, the world lived under forms of government other than democratic. Then, for the next 2,500 years, democracy has existed as a theory and actual system of government, with varying degrees of consistency between theory and practice. But all this began in the middle of the 5th century before Christ in Athens.

In the year 600 B.C., during which time Lycurgus was working to reform the legal system of Spartan government, a political crisis was developing in the Athenian city-state. The farmers and suppliers of Athens were falling behind in their production rates because the population of Athens had grown too quickly. This forced the farmers into bankruptcy as they were forced to trade their land for more food until they ran out of land. Fortunately, when Solon was given control over the Athenians in 594 B.C., he canceled all of the agricultural debts and liberated all the slaves and solved the crisis. He proceeded to pass reforms in the Athenian government that separated Athenians into four classes based not on birth, but rather on their own annual production rate. Only Athenians who were among the three highest classes were allowed to hold public office. Those excluded from Solon's system were those who did not own any productive land, including women and children. However, an interesting facet of Solon's new system was that it allowed men from the lower class or the less-recognized could work their way up through the system until they were able to achieve leadership positions in the government.

Later, in 561 B.C., Pisistratus came and usurped Solon's position and ruled as tyrant, in the best sense of the word. He became the Robin Hood of his day, rewarding the insolvent peasants with land confiscated from wealthier families. He did many great things to help along the development of the society as a whole. He devoted much of his attention to encouraging more trade and industry and constantly thought of new and better ways to promote the growth of the protectorate.

Pisistratus was a catalyst for the growth and development of Athens. The city had expanded both in size and in wealth. Pisistratus developed the self-confidence of the common people. They now had a much higher standard of living, being able to function on their own; they were now more at ease and were able to spend more time doing as they pleased, and they had become a much more erudite people than their ancestors had ever been. Pisistratus sought to relinquish the power he had attained to a more popular base of support and soon established the first political leadership by an average citizen. Indeed, because incomes were escalating in the 6th century and men continued to qualify for office on the basis of wealth, there was a greater number of citizens being included in the operation of the government.

Pisistratus was succeeded in 527 B.C. by his son, Hippias, who followed in the way of his father. Then, in 514 B.C., his younger brother, Hipparchus, was murdered, arousing Hippias's suspicion and uneasiness. Finally, the noble clan of the Alemaeonids, exiled by the sons of Pisistratus, won favor with the oracle of Delphi and used that support to influence Sparta in attacking the Athenian tyranny. The Spartans, who were being led by Cleomenes I, invaded Athenian territory in 510 B.C. Hippias was ousted and fled to Persia.

From that point, Cleomenes's friend Isagoras held the leadership in Athens after the withdrawal of the Spartan troops, only opposed by Cleisthenes, from the restored Alemaeonid clan. Isagoras's aim was to reinstate the pre-Solonian aristocratic state by purifying the citizen lists.

Cleisthenes took an unprecedented action by consulting the people for their political support and won with it a program of great popular appeal. With this backing by the population, Cleisthenes was able to pursue his ideas for the future of Athenian government. He saw Athens as an opportunity for a new political organization in which the citizens would have more direct influence in making the government function well. He had in mind a more dynamic and more uninhibited role in running the city-state. He labeled this new political organization demokratia, or democracy Ð'- rule by the entire body of citizens. This is where the foundation was laid for what we now know as democratic organization. Cleisthenes created a Council of Five Hundred, which planned the business of the public assemblies. All male citizens over thirty years of age were limited to no more than two terms of one year each on the Council. Cleisthenes thought that this organization was necessary so that every citizen could learn from direct political experience. This way, he speculated, there would be no citizens to conspire and rise up against the political system.

Cleisthenes set up a rudimentary check-and-balance system within the Athenian populace by dividing it into ten tribes (instead of the original four), composing each tribe in a way that guaranteed that no region would dominate any of them. Because the tribes had common religious activities and participated together in communal undertakings, the new set-up would also increase the amount of devotion to the polis and diminish regional division.

Each tribe sent fifty men to serve on the Council of five Hundred (replacing Solon's Council of Four Hundred), and each set of fifty men would serve as a presiding committee for a period of thirty-five days. The Council convened the Assembly Ð'- an Assembly which, as of the year 450 B.C. Ð'- consisted of approximately 21,000 citizens. The Council scrutinized the qualifications of officials