Read Anywhere and on Any Device!

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!

Create Free Account

First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Idea

3.7/5 ( ratings)

Americans have an unwavering faith in democracy and are ever eager to import it to nations around the world. But how democratic is our own democracy? If you can vote, if the majority rules, if you have elected representatives--does this automatically mean that you have a democracy? In this eye-opening look at an ideal that we all take for granted, classical scholar Paul Woodruff offers some surprising answers to these questions.
Drawing on classical literature, philosophy, and history--with many intriguing passages from Sophocles, Aesop, and Plato, among others--Woodruff immerses us in the world of ancient Athens to uncover how the democratic impulse first came to life. The heart of the book isolates seven conditions that are the sine qua non of democracy: freedom from tyranny, harmony, the rule of law, natural equality, citizen wisdom, reasoning without knowledge, and general education. He concludes that a true democracy must be willing to invite everyone to join in government. It must respect the rule of law so strongly that even the government is not above the law. True democracy must be mature enough to accept changes that come from the people. And it must be willing to pay the price of education for thoughtful citizenship. If we learn anything from the story of Athens, Woodruff concludes, it should be this--never lose sight of the ideals of democracy. This compact, eloquent book illuminates these ideals and lights the way as we struggle to keep democracy alive at home and around the world.

Language: English

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Release: March 16, 2006

ISBN: 0195304543

ISBN 13: 9780195304541

First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Idea

3.7/5 ( ratings)

Americans have an unwavering faith in democracy and are ever eager to import it to nations around the world. But how democratic is our own democracy? If you can vote, if the majority rules, if you have elected representatives--does this automatically mean that you have a democracy? In this eye-opening look at an ideal that we all take for granted, classical scholar Paul Woodruff offers some surprising answers to these questions.
Drawing on classical literature, philosophy, and history--with many intriguing passages from Sophocles, Aesop, and Plato, among others--Woodruff immerses us in the world of ancient Athens to uncover how the democratic impulse first came to life. The heart of the book isolates seven conditions that are the sine qua non of democracy: freedom from tyranny, harmony, the rule of law, natural equality, citizen wisdom, reasoning without knowledge, and general education. He concludes that a true democracy must be willing to invite everyone to join in government. It must respect the rule of law so strongly that even the government is not above the law. True democracy must be mature enough to accept changes that come from the people. And it must be willing to pay the price of education for thoughtful citizenship. If we learn anything from the story of Athens, Woodruff concludes, it should be this--never lose sight of the ideals of democracy. This compact, eloquent book illuminates these ideals and lights the way as we struggle to keep democracy alive at home and around the world.

Language: English

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Release: March 16, 2006

ISBN: 0195304543

ISBN 13: 9780195304541

More books from Paul Woodruff

Phaedrus

3.9/5 ( ratings)

On Justice, Power and Human Nature: Selections from The History of the Peloponnesian War

3.7/5 ( ratings)

Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue

3.8/5 ( ratings)

The Ajax Dilemma: Justice, Fairness, and Rewards

3.7/5 ( ratings)

The Electra Plays

Early Greek Political Thought from Homer to the Sophists

3.7/5 ( ratings)

The Ethics of Giving: Philosophers' Perspectives on Philanthropy

Facing Evil: Confronting the Dreadful Power Behind Genocide, Terroism, and Cruelty

3.5/5 ( ratings)

The Garden of Leaders: Revolutionizing Higher Education

2.7/5 ( ratings)

Electra, Phoenician Women, Bacchae, and Iphigenia at Aulis (Hackett Classics)

2.7/5 ( ratings)

Reason and Religion in Socratic Philosophy

2.7/5 ( ratings)

The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles: Philosophical Perspectives

2.7/5 ( ratings)

Loyalty: Nomos LIV

2.7/5 ( ratings)

Hippias Major

2.7/5 ( ratings)

Two Comic Dialogues: Ion and Hippias Major

2.7/5 ( ratings)

Rate this book!

Write a review?