Economic equality and direct democracy in ancient athens

Abstract

Economic Equality and Direct Democracy in Ancient Athens argues against mainstream views, which tend to find an inexplicable paradox between ancient Athens' extraordinary politics, on the one hand, and its apparent economic inequality, on the other hand. In contrast, the author suggests that in the period c.594-323 B.C., Athenian males controlled significant means of production, in particular land, which enabled these relatively independent men to successfully challenge their exclusion from politics. It is generally agreed that Athens produced the most radical form of democracy in the history of humanity. What is often overlooked, however, is that its radical nature was rooted in an equally radical version of economic parity. The book concludes by suggesting that the key lesson we 'moderns' can take from Athens is that some form of economic democracy is a necessary prerequisite for political democracy.