Democracy: As Old as Aristotle, but Has One Ever Really Existed?
Democracy, of course, is the system of government that is most often misunderstood and overstated. The plain simple fact is that no true democracy has ever existed on earth that we know of. Those nations we refer to as democracies are really representative republics. What’s the difference? In a democracy, everyone has a say; in a republic everyone has a say in electing representatives to make their choice for them. While the United States fights a bloody battle half a world away to bring democracy to Iraq, an argument could certainly made that democracy should brought to America first. In judging the systems of government known as democracy and republicanism, one might well be tempted not to apply such terms to either ancient Greece or Rome, but while they were clearly lacking in the specifics, upon closer examination they were not significantly less democratic than most modern republics.
The reference to Greece as the womb from which democracy was borne is actually talking about the city-state of Athens and the establishment of an assembly at which deliberations of public matters were held. Much like many Congressional committees, these assemblies and discussions were not open to everyone. In fact, there would have been very few participants at these assemblies; their purpose was to create a council at which competition for the favors of those in charge would take place. This methodology of democracy was adopted by the Romans as well. The early history of the Roman republic is one involving often violent struggles for equal shares of power between the poor and the rich. Democracy in ancient Greece and Rome appears to have been surprisingly similar to the form of government which it inspired in America two-thousand years later.
It should not be at all surprising that Greece and Rome are considered the foundations of democracy considering the similarities between the ancient and modern forms of that system of government. Representative government in Greece was a social outgrowth of the city-state’s demographics, as well as the shared interests of residents. Much like the American republic years later, the rise of the Roman republic was in essence a political reaction to years of dictatorial rule, and the failure of the siege of Rome by the Estruscan king Tarquinius. Although the genesis of the rise of democracy in Greece and Rome differ, both are similar in that they began with extremely limited representation, and both presented obstacles to the expansion of the form.
Because only a few were allowed to participate at first, the risk being run was that limited awareness by the masses would have prohibited further involvement and those already involved could have consolidated power among themselves. In Rome, especially, this risk very nearly came to fruition until a plebian revolt resulted in more power. Ultimately, however, that victory led to fractious infighting that weakened the republic rather than strengthening it, leading to Rome’s vulnerability to threats from without. History has proven time and time again that both real and imagined threats from the outside are the most effective method of undoing democratic ideals and republican liberty. It never fails to amaze those whose prize liberty over security how many people are so quick to give up liberty in exchange for the promise of greater security. It happened in Rome, it happened in Germany, and now it’s happening here.
The question that must be considered is why has democracy flourished despite limited representation, discrimination against minority groups, and political in-fighting that stifles progress: Perhaps the answer lies in what the definition of a democracy really is, at least as it has been practiced in Greece, Rome and modern nations. Aristotle wrote that “wherever men rule by reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, that is an oligarchy, and where the poor rule, that is a democracy.” If one judges by this standard, and it certainly seems a more accurate portrayal of democracy that that which is commonly thought, then there is little surprise that what was known as the Greek and Roman democracies flourished as long as they did.
