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And elections are approaching and we talk about the origins of democracy: the power of the people. The word, Greek, tells the story of a concept that in Greece was born and that, through the centuries, has come down to us. The ancient world valued this type of government differently, often placing it at the center of philosophical and political debates and interpreting it differently in different cultures. Concepts such as vote, freedom, rights, participation meet in the writings of Greek and Latin authors and describe situations typical of the Hellenic and Roman world. But a true and full implementation of the democratic idea was realized only at Athens.
Athenian democracy
“We have a constitution that does not emulate the laws of the neighbors, as we are more examples to others than imitators. And since it is held in such a way that civil rights belong not to a few people, but to the majority, it is called democracy: before the laws, as far as private interests are concerned, everyone has an equal footing, while as regards public consideration in the administration of the state, each is preferred according to its emergence in a particular field, not for the origin from a social class, but for what it is worth “. Thucydides (The Peloponnesian WarII, 37) reports the words of Pericles to the Athenians: it was in the Periclean period (5th century BC) that Athenian democracy reached its fulfillment. The extension of the vote to the poorest citizens is the culmination of a process that began two centuries earlier with Solon’s reforms: the basis of the new social order was wealth, wealth, no longer belonging to the nobility or not. Those who possessed an income sufficient to carry out certain tasks towards the city, such as paying taxes or military service, could participate in public life (only those who had the money could buy the weapons and equipment necessary for war). Later Clistene’s government expanded the participation pool by lowering income limits and creating the boulèa “council” of 500 members not elected but drawn from among citizens over 35.
That of Pericles it was certainly not a mature democracy: women and slaves were absolutely excluded, hardly considered persons. Yet he had traits of indisputable modernity. Suffice it to say that in 5th century Athens not only all male free citizens could vote, but that candidates enjoyed allowance which ensured compensation for those who carried out public activities, so that it was not only the rich who could be elected. Not only that: the draw at the basis of the choice of candidates, it protected from attempts at corruption and the “purchase” of votes. The mandate was also very short, to ensure a continuous turnover and some positions could only be held twice, with an interval of one year. Furthermore, at the end of the post, the politicians were subjected to a test who evaluated the work.
Finally, in Athens there were both assembly bodies, in which all participated, and representative institutions which were accessed by drawing lots or by election. The elections were held by show of hands or by secret ballot.
Equality and participation
“THEThe government of the people above all has the most beautiful name of all, isonomysecondly he does nothing of what the monarch does because he exercises the judiciary by lot and gives a power subject to control and presents all the decrees to the public assembly “. (Herodotus, StoriesIII, 80), Isonomy means “the law is the same for everyone”. This equality was fundamental for Greek thought, which also saw a great resource in debate and confrontation. After all, it was a direct democracy, possible in a city-state reality. And freedom of speech. There parrhesia, was an inviolable value, so much so that comedians, poets and writers did not fail to denounce the “flaws” of the system. Anyone who did not take part in these discussions, the historian Thucydides continues, was considered a burden for society: “We Athenians either judge or at least correctly ponder the various issues without thinking that discussing is a detriment to acting, but rather not being informed before taking action “. Information was therefore the basis of every choice.
In Rome, mixed constitution and passion for res publica
The The term “candidate” derives from the Latin and refers, on an etymological level, to the white robe worn by those who wanted to be elected to be easily identified. A primordial image operation that shows how in republican Rome the mechanisms of democracy have found a codification and a formal form supported by a sense of the state deeply rooted in society. The republican form of government was born with the fall of the monarchy at the end of the sixth century before Christ. The new constitution provided for the presence of two consuls elected each year by the peopleof a senateformed by the most eminent citizens, and by centuriate ralliesdedicated to appointing consuls and others judiciary and which were made up of patricians and plebeians.
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