What is Democracy? Why is it important?
We have all heard the phrase a thousand times: "You aren't following the rules." At the time, we may have felt that was really unfair, because we had no say about those rules when they were made. You probably asked yourself at least once: "Why do I have to follow these rules?" Consider this though, what if you did have a say in the rules? What might you change? What would the role of your government be? Who would lead the country? Who would get to vote? Should criminals be innocent until proven guilty? These are not easy questions.
In order to form a society, we have to first figure out what we want that society to look like. Since the beginning of organized countries, people have theorized what the best form of government is, and none have really found a perfect answer. Throughout time, however, many have created their ideal governments by pulling ideas from Ancient Greece, the Roman Republic/Empire, Judaism, and Christianity (among other places). The Greco-Romans (Greeks and Romans) used written law codes and the involvement of the people in selecting the country's leaders, and the Judeo-Christians (Jews and Christians) had codes of morality which dictated how one should live their lives. It would make sense that philosophers would pull the best from all of these sources to create a society governed by reason, laws, and the consent of the people themselves, but still guided with morals to prevent corruption and tyranny.
Democracy was born.
In order to form a society, we have to first figure out what we want that society to look like. Since the beginning of organized countries, people have theorized what the best form of government is, and none have really found a perfect answer. Throughout time, however, many have created their ideal governments by pulling ideas from Ancient Greece, the Roman Republic/Empire, Judaism, and Christianity (among other places). The Greco-Romans (Greeks and Romans) used written law codes and the involvement of the people in selecting the country's leaders, and the Judeo-Christians (Jews and Christians) had codes of morality which dictated how one should live their lives. It would make sense that philosophers would pull the best from all of these sources to create a society governed by reason, laws, and the consent of the people themselves, but still guided with morals to prevent corruption and tyranny.
Democracy was born.
Government and Legal Influences
Greek DemocracyThough the ideas have been around for hundreds of years through the works of Aristotle and Plato, we identify the Greeks as having the first actual government close enough to be called a "Democracy" in history. What does that mean though? Well, a Democracy is a system of government in which the power to rule comes from the people themselves. There is no King, Queen, or Emperor, but rather leaders are chosen by ordinary people. They do this through the power to vote. Furthermore, people were seen as equal, and not any different from one another.
Greece, at the time, was broken up into small countries. One of them was centered around the city of Athens. Around 507 B.C.E., Athenians tested this new form of government, by allowing the people to directly choose their leaders and make important decisions for themselves. (This form is also called a "Direct Democracy.") By doing so, they broke down the old system where the wealthy controlled the government, and the middle-class had little say. This was a novel idea and had not really been tried before. The new system was put to the test when Persia invaded Athens and the rest of Greece. Athenians were not war-like, and tended to settle arguments peacefully, rather than militarily. When it was put to a vote though, the people chose to go to war, and they resisted the Persians with other Greeks until the Persians were defeated. There was one problem though, not everyone could vote. The “equality” Athens said they had was actually only limited to a small segment of the population. Historians estimate that there was around 100,000-150,000 citizens (A legally recognized member of a country) who lived in Athens during this time period (Athenian citizenship was limited to men and women whose parents had also been Athenian citizens). There were also a number of foreigners and slaves. Out of all these people, only male citizens who were older than 18 and owned land could vote. This meant that only about 40,000 could participate in the democratic process, so there was not true equality. Athens' experiment with Direct Democracy only lasted about 130 years, but the idea of it did not go away. Philosophers kept thinking of ways to make it work, and politicians continued to be influenced by it for thousands of years. |
Roman RepublicLong before Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire that everyone has heard of at one point or another, Rome was actually a Republic. Now, a Republic is another type of democracy, which we call an "Indirect Democracy." Unlike in Athens (which was fairly small) where the people voted on everything from taxes to waging war themselves, Roman territory grew to a size where that was completely impractical. In a Republic, the government also receives its power from the citizens of the country, but instead of voting on every single issue on their own, people elect representatives to vote on many issues for them.
Early in the Roman Republic (around 450 B.C.E), the country adopted a legal system, known as The Twelve Tables. In this document, the Romans created laws regarding property, religion, and divorce, among other things. They also listed punishments for numerous crimes, ranging from theft to black magic. The legal terms of: Subpoena, habeas corpus, pro bono, affidavit, etc., all originated from this document. These ideas still govern much of modern judicial systems, and continue to form the basis of Western law and government. The Roman Republic went on to become the Roman Empire 400 years later, and even though the Empire was not republican, the Twelve Tables continued to be used. After the Empire finally fell in 476 C.E., Emperor Justinian attempted to combine all of Rome's laws into a single document, known as the Corpus Juris Civilis, and added new concepts, such as the idea that a criminal is innocent until proven guilty. Along with the Twelve Tables, this document also continues to make up the foundation of most Western judicial systems. Though Rome contributed many things to history, their arguably most important one was these legal codes. Many governments continue to use them in one way or another today, and modern courts are still heavily based on their ideas. Like the Greeks, the Roman's experiment with democracy was short-lived, and was never a true democracy either, but their concepts of a republic and how to enforce laws remain tremendously important. They likewise continued to influence philosophers, politicians, and ordinary people throughout history. |
Religious and Moral Influences
Judaism and Christianity
The reason why we look at Judaism and Christianity at the same time, and use the term "Judeo-Christians," is because at the beginning, Christianity was simply an off-shoot of Judaism. Even today, the two religions (though Christianity has broken off into dozens of other religions now) are still fairly similar, despite deep differences over how they view Jesus, his disciples, and the Bible. What we have inherited from these religions are their documents, which describe how someone should live their life, and consequently show that they are a good person.
The one document in particular, is The Ten Commandments. Though a few of the commandments are exclusively religious in nature, many of them are simply positive ways a person should behave in society. Practically everyone can agree that people should honor their mother and father, not kill, commit adultery, or steal; just to name a few examples. These are just good things to do, and help in creating a better society for all to live in.
Moreover, these are not only morally right behaviors, but they also have been incorporated into our laws as well, like the ideas of the Greeks and Romans have. If you commit murder or steal from someone, you will be punished for doing so, just as someone who broke one of the commandments would have been. We want people to not affect the lives of others, and the code of morals Judaism and Christianity bring to the mix help create a balance which allows everyone to enjoy their existence as individuals. It also prevents governments from abusing their citizens, because people will eventually not let them violate the principles of their society. This is something we will see happen frequently in the coming units.
Though we will not be discussing Judaism and Christianity in depth during this class, their contributions are nonetheless extremely important. No matter what your view on religion in general is, everyone can agree that the ideas we get from various religions, as well as their documents, help create a society based on values of right and wrong. It helps create a greater community, not just people who look out for themselves and their own interests.
The one document in particular, is The Ten Commandments. Though a few of the commandments are exclusively religious in nature, many of them are simply positive ways a person should behave in society. Practically everyone can agree that people should honor their mother and father, not kill, commit adultery, or steal; just to name a few examples. These are just good things to do, and help in creating a better society for all to live in.
Moreover, these are not only morally right behaviors, but they also have been incorporated into our laws as well, like the ideas of the Greeks and Romans have. If you commit murder or steal from someone, you will be punished for doing so, just as someone who broke one of the commandments would have been. We want people to not affect the lives of others, and the code of morals Judaism and Christianity bring to the mix help create a balance which allows everyone to enjoy their existence as individuals. It also prevents governments from abusing their citizens, because people will eventually not let them violate the principles of their society. This is something we will see happen frequently in the coming units.
Though we will not be discussing Judaism and Christianity in depth during this class, their contributions are nonetheless extremely important. No matter what your view on religion in general is, everyone can agree that the ideas we get from various religions, as well as their documents, help create a society based on values of right and wrong. It helps create a greater community, not just people who look out for themselves and their own interests.