POLSCI 1G06 Lecture 2: September 12, 2013 - Lecture #3 - Democracy 2A.doc
31 Dec 2014
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Document Summary
In the modern context, democracy is almost universally advocated as the best model for organizing political life. Yet this was not always the case historically democracy has more often been the target of criticism than praise. What does democracy mean: democracy comes from the greek demos (people) and kratos (rule) Just what this rule of the people means and how it has been translated into actual political practice has been historically and culturally variable. Direct democracy: where the rule makers and the rule takers are the same people. All male adult citizens were able to participate participation to a far greater extent than today: comprised the assembly, debated and decided on all major issues. The free greek citizen must be seen in the context of the slave labour upon which he rested. Treats men as equal whether they are equal or not . The ancient greeks theorists were almost all hostile to democracy:
