NAME :- Noah Victor.

Course :- [Link] II
Enrolment no. :- 22STSCBAPR000042
Date of submission :- 1st December 2023

Q.) Critically evaluate the classical theory of Democracy.

The classical theory of democracy is a political theory that dates back to ancient Greece and Rome.
It emphasises the idea of citizen participation in decision-making and the protection of individual
rights. According to this theory, power should be distributed among different branches of
government to prevent the concentration of power in one person or group. This principle of
separation of powers and checks and balances is believed to be essential for maintaining a fair and
accountable democratic system.

The western linear narrative about democracy is all about democracy being invented in Greece. In
the 5th century Bc, Athens emerged as the most innovative and sophisticated 'city-state' or ‘Polis’
among many rival Greek communities.' The reasons for its development and for the establishment of
its extraordinary 'democratic' way of life were not one but a multitude of reasons and this
establishment of initial democracy was not happen in a day but also took many years to be
established and form, however I don’t deny the fact that democracy is still an ongoing project. Here
are some of the historical reasons that help democracy to emerge in Athens, Greece.

 Growth of trade and commerce, The growth of land and overseas trade stimulated
the development of particularly well- placed coastal cities, some of which c a r e to
enjoy periods of sustained growth.

 Increase in Population, An expansion in the population increased pressure on the

privileged, and a period of intensive social struggle ensued. In the complex and
intensive politics of the cities, concessions often had to be made to preserve a
balance of power; and the concessions that were made, notably in Athens but also
elsewhere, strengthened the economic autonomy of small and medium- sized
farmers as well as of some categories of peasants, creating a community of
smallholders.

 Growth of Slave economy, A growing number of independent citizens enjoyed a

substantial increase in the scope of their activities with the expansion of slavery. It
was the formation of a slave economy - in mining, agriculture and certain craft
industries - which, as has been remarked, 'permitted the sudden florescence of
Greek urban civilisation .the free citizen now stood out in full relief, against the
background of slave labourers.

 It was a conjunction and an emergence of economically and militarily, independent

citizen Re in the context of relatively small and compact communities that word sure
a democratic way of life. Political changes took place within geographically and
socially demarcated communities of a few thousand people it and within one hour
by the Centre or within the countryside.
The political Ideals of Athens democracy like, equality among citizens, liberty, respect for the law and
justice are still even today are one of the major pillars of Morden democracy and has influenced the
thinking in the west. The legacy of Athens was, however, by no means accepted uncritically by the
great Greek thinkers who examined its ideas and culture, including Thucydides (c.460-399 BC), Plato
(c.427-347Bc) and Aristotle (384-322Bc). Their works contain some of the most challenging and
durable assessments of the limitations of democratic theory and practice that have been written.

Thucydides - The ideals and aims of Athenian democracy are strikingly recounted in the famous
funeral speech attributed to Pericles, a prominent Athenian citizen, general and politician. Here are
the two important paragraphs from the speech.

“Let me say that our system of government does not copy the
institutions o four
neighbours. It is more the case of our being a model to others, than
of our
imitating anyone else. Our constitution is called a democracy
because power is in the hands not of-a minority but of-the whole
[Link] it is a question of
settling private dispute’s,everyone is equal before the law; when it
is a question
of putting one person before another in positions of public
responsibility, what
counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability
which the
man possesses. No one, so long as he has it in him to be of service
to the state, is
kept in political obscurity because of poverty. And, just as our
political life is free
and open, so is our day-to-day life in our relations with each other.
We do not get into a state with our next door neighbour fi he enjoys
himself in his own way, nor do we give him the kind of black looks
which, though they do no real harm, still
do hurt people's feelings. We are free and tolerant in our private
lives; but in public affairs we keep to the law. This is because it
commands our-deep respect.
We give our obedience to those whom we put in positions of
authority, and we obey the laws themselves, especially those which
are for the protection of the oppressed, and those unwritten laws
which it is an acknowledged shame to break.”

In this speech he is highlighting some of the major features of Athens democracy:-

 rule of popular
 Everyone one is equal before law
 Equality of opportunity and preference to opportunity
 Representative democracy.
 Against reservation, which means Merit is only important for holding crucial
positions.
 Rational culture
 Idea of compatibility between words and deeds.
2nd paragraph, “Here each individual is interested not-only in his own
affairs but in the affairs of the state as well:even those who are
mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well-
informed on general politics - this is a peculiarity of ours: we do not
say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds
his own business; we say that he has no business here at all. We
Athenians, in our own persons, take our decisions on policy or
submit them to proper discussions: for we do not think that there is
an incompatibility between words and deeds; the worst thing is to
rush into action before the consequences have been properly
debated”.

- This paragraph specifically says that it is necessary for citizens to

participate in govt affairs otherwise that citizen will not consider as a
citizen of Athens only. this is “PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY”.

- The demos (people) held sovereign power.

The Athenian concept of citizenship entailed taking a share in these functions,

participating directly in the affairs of the state. As Pericles says: 'We do not say that a
man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say
that he has no business here at all.' The peculiarly modern distinctions which began
to emerge with Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) and Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
between state and society, specialised officials and citizens, 'the people' and
government, are not part of the political philosophy of the Athenian city-state. For
this city-state celebrated the notion of an active, involved citizenry in a process self-
government; the governors were to be the governed. Al citizens met to debate,
decide and enact the law. The principle of government was the principle of a form of
life:direct participation and the process of government itself was based on what
Pericles refers to as 'proper discussions', i.e. free and unrestricted discourse,
guaranteed by isegoria, an equal right to speak in the sovereign assembly.

Accordingly, the ancient democratic polis can be thought of as an attempt to enable

men of different backgrounds and attributes 'to express and transform their
understanding of the good through political interaction. Freedom implies on to
respect the law. It seems that Athenians on the whole prided themselves on a 'free
and open' political life in which citizens could develop and realise their capacities and
skills. It was clearly recognised that not everybody had the ability, for instance, to
command and lead the army or navy: differences in ability and merit were
acknowledged. But when Pericles proudly proclaimed that 'our city is an education to
Greece', he was speaking, above all, of a form of life in which 'each single one of our
citizens, in all the manifold aspects of life, is able to show himself the rightful lord
and owner of his own person, and do this, moreover, with exceptional grace and
exceptional versatility.

Aristotle - Aristotle was a critic who "disliked the power that he thought the
expansion of democracy necessarily gave to the poor". Plato was an opponent of
democracy who advocated for "government by the best qualified".

Aristotle called democracy “A perverted form of Government”

One of them the most remarkable descriptions of ancient democracy can be found in
Aristotle's The Politics (written between 335 and 323 Bc), a book which, while
examining 'lawful' and durable forms of rule, provided a detailed account of
democracy, albeit as a model of rule which Aristotle himself could not approve of
(indeed, he referred to it as a 'transgression' of good government). Some of the
notable of democracy from which aristotle was not happy were :-

- Squrral with democracy, freedom was not given and essential

decisions were not taken on merit but numbers decided what is wrong
and what is right.

- According to aristotle, “injustice arises when unequals are treated as

equals and equals are treated unequally.

- Aristotle believed democracy can be exploited, The philosopher’s chief

issue with Athenian democracy was its susceptibility to popular leaders
who pandered only to the common poor. Some figures ruled well,
namely Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles. However, many others were
incompetent, immoral, and gained power by tricking the Athenian
people, the demos

- According to aristotle, the multitude cannot be sovereign that means

he was a critic of majoritarianism and numerical equality.

From these fundamentals, and from rule thus conceived, are derived the following
features of democracy :
 Elections to office by all from among all.
 Rule of all over each and of each by turns over al.
 Offices filled by lot, either all or a tany rate those not-calling for experience or
skill.
 No tenure of office dependent on the possession of a property qualification,
or only on the lowest possible.
 The same man not to hold the same office twice, or only rarely, or only a few
apart from those connected with warfare.
 Short terms for all offices or for as many as possible.
  The assembly of citizens acted as a sovereign authority.
 All to sit in on juries.

The working of Athens democracy, The word democracy (dēmokratia) derives

from dēmos, which refers to the entire citizen body, and kratos, meaning rule. Any
male citizen could, then, participate in the main democratic body of Athens, the
assembly (ekklēsia). In the 4th and 5th centuries BCE the male citizen population of
Athens ranged from 30,000 to 60,000 depending on the period. The assembly met at
least once a month, more likely two or three times, on the Pnyx hill in a dedicated
space which could accommodate around 6000 citizens. Any citizen could speak to the
assembly and vote on decisions by simply holding up their hands. The majority won
the day and the decision was final. Nine presidents (proedroi), elected by lot and
holding the office one time only, organised the proceedings and assessed the voting.
Specific issues discussed in the assembly included deciding military and financial
magistracies, organising and maintaining food supplies, initiating legislation and
political trials, deciding to send envoys, deciding whether or not to sign treaties,
voting to raise or spend funds, and debating military matters. The assembly could
also vote to ostracise from Athens any citizen who had become too powerful and
dangerous for the polis. In this case there was a secret ballot where voters wrote a
name on a piece of broken pottery (ostrakon). An important element in the debates
was freedom of speech (parrhēsia) which became, perhaps, the citizen's most valued
privilege. After suitable discussion, temporary or specific decrees (psēphismata) were
adopted and laws (nomoi) defined. The assembly also ensured decisions were
enforced and officials were carrying out their duties correctly.

Athenian democracy had many critics, both ancient and modern. Ancient Greek
critics of democracy include, the playwright, Plato the pupil of Socrates, aristotle the
pupil of Plato, and a writer known as the Old Oligarh. While modern critics are more
likely to find fault with the restrictive qualifications for political involvement, these
ancients viewed democracy as being too inclusive. For them, the common people
were not necessarily the right people to rule and were likely to make huge mistakes.
Plato and Aristotle criticised democratic rule as the numerically preponderant poor
tyrannising the rich. Instead of seeing it as a fair system under which everyone has
equal rights, they regarded it as unjust. Aristotle's works, this is categorised as the
difference between "arithmetic" and "geometric" (i.e. proportional) equality.

In conclusion, When critically analysing classical democracy in Athens and its

relevance to today's era, it's important to consider both its strengths and limitations.
While Athens introduced the concept of citizen participation and the idea of
government accountability, it had its flaws, such as limited citizenship and exclusion
of certain groups. However, the principles of democracy that emerged from Athens
have shaped modern democratic systems. Today, we see the influence of classical
democracy in the emphasis on individual rights, separation of powers, and the
importance of citizen engagement. It serves as a reminder that democracy is an
ongoing process that requires adaptation and improvement to meet the needs of our
ever-changing society.