Early Greek Political Thought from Homer to the Sophists

Early Greek Political Thought from Homer to the Sophists

Author: Michael Gagarin

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1995-09-21

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 9780521437684

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Including the works of more than thirty authors, this edition of early Greek writings on social and political issues includes the origin of human society and law; the nature of justice and good government; the distribution of power among genders and social classes.


Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens

Greed and Injustice in Classical Athens

Author: Ryan K. Balot

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-10-06

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 0691220158

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In this original and rewarding combination of intellectual and political history, Ryan Balot offers a thorough historical and sociological interpretation of classical Athens centered on the notion of greed. Integrating ancient philosophy, poetry, and history, and drawing on modern political thought, the author demonstrates that the Athenian discourse on greed was an essential component of Greek social development and political history. Over time, the Athenians developed sophisticated psychological and political accounts of acquisitiveness and a correspondingly rich vocabulary to describe and condemn it. Greed figures repeatedly as an object of criticism in authors as diverse as Solon, Thucydides, and Plato--all of whom addressed the social disruptions caused by it, as well as the inadequacy of lives focused on it. Because of its ethical significance, greed surfaced frequently in theoretical debates about democracy and oligarchy. Ultimately, critiques of greed--particularly the charge that it is unjust--were built into the robust accounts of justice formulated by many philosophers, including Plato and Aristotle. Such critiques of greed both reflected and were inextricably knitted into economic history and political events, including the coups of 411 and 404 B.C. Balot contrasts ancient Greek thought on distributive justice with later Western traditions, with implications for political and economic history well beyond the classical period. Because the belief that greed is good holds a dominant position in modern justifications of capitalism, this study provides a deep historical context within which such justifications can be reexamined and, perhaps, found wanting.


The Old Oligarch

The Old Oligarch

Author:

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-06-30

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 1009383582

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This volume in the LACTOR Sourcebooks in Ancient History series features a new English translation of The Old Oligarch: Pseudo-Xenophon's Constitution of the Athenians, a key text for the study of Classical Greek history, with accompanying notes and a thorough, contextualising Introduction. It provides for the needs of students at schools and universities who are studying ancient history in translation and has been written and reviewed by experienced teachers.


Athens on Trial

Athens on Trial

Author: Jennifer T. Roberts

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2011-10-23

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 1400821320

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The Classical Athenians were the first to articulate and implement the notion that ordinary citizens of no particular affluence or education could make responsible political decisions. For this reason, reactions to Athenian democracy have long provided a prime Rorschach test for political thought. Whether praising Athens's government as the legitimizing ancestor of modern democracies or condemning it as mob rule, commentators throughout history have revealed much about their own notions of politics and society. In this book, Jennifer Roberts charts responses to Athenian democracy from Athens itself through the twentieth century, exploring a debate that touches upon historiography, ethics, political science, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, gender studies, and educational theory.


Political Dissent in Democratic Athens

Political Dissent in Democratic Athens

Author: Josiah Ober

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2001-12-02

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0691089817

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Since it was no longer self-evident that "better men" meant "better government," critics of democracy sought new arguments to explain the relationship among politics, ethics, and morality.


Classical Greek Oligarchy

Classical Greek Oligarchy

Author: Matthew Simonton

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-03-26

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 0691192057

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Classical Greek Oligarchy thoroughly reassesses an important but neglected form of ancient Greek government, the "rule of the few." Matthew Simonton challenges scholarly orthodoxy by showing that oligarchy was not the default mode of politics from time immemorial, but instead emerged alongside, and in reaction to, democracy. He establishes for the first time how oligarchies maintained power in the face of potential citizen resistance. The book argues that oligarchs designed distinctive political institutions—such as intra-oligarchic power sharing, targeted repression, and rewards for informants—to prevent collective action among the majority population while sustaining cooperation within their own ranks. To clarify the workings of oligarchic institutions, Simonton draws on recent social science research on authoritarianism. Like modern authoritarian regimes, ancient Greek oligarchies had to balance coercion with co-optation in order to keep their subjects disorganized and powerless. The book investigates topics such as control of public space, the manipulation of information, and the establishment of patron-client relations, frequently citing parallels with contemporary nondemocratic regimes. Simonton also traces changes over time in antiquity, revealing the processes through which oligarchy lost the ideological battle with democracy for legitimacy. Classical Greek Oligarchy represents a major new development in the study of ancient politics. It fills a longstanding gap in our knowledge of nondemocratic government while greatly improving our understanding of forms of power that continue to affect us today.


The Hidden History of American Oligarchy

The Hidden History of American Oligarchy

Author: Thom Hartmann

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2021-02-01

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1523091606

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Thom Hartmann, the most popular progressive radio host in America and a New York Times bestselling author, looks at the history of the battle against oligarchy in America—and how we can win the latest round. Billionaire oligarchs want to own our republic, and they're nearly there thanks to legislation and Supreme Court decisions that they have essentially bought. They put Trump and his political allies into office and support a vast network of think tanks, publications, and social media that every day push our nation closer and closer to police-state tyranny. The United States was born in a struggle against the oligarchs of the British aristocracy, and ever since then the history of America has been one of dynamic tension between democracy and oligarchy. And much like the shock of the 1929 crash woke America up to glaring inequality and the ongoing theft of democracy by that generation's oligarchs, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has laid bare how extensively oligarchs have looted our nation's economic system, gutted governmental institutions, and stolen the wealth of the former middle class. Thom Hartmann traces the history of this struggle against oligarchy from America's founding to the United States' war with the feudal Confederacy to President Franklin Roosevelt's struggle against “economic royalists,” who wanted to block the New Deal. In each of those cases, the oligarchs lost the battle. But with increasing right-wing control of the media, unlimited campaign contributions, and a conservative takeover of the judicial system, we're at a crisis point. Now is the time for action, before we flip into tyranny. We've beaten the oligarchs before, and we can do it again. Hartmann lays out practical measures we can take to break up media monopolies, limit the influence of money in politics, reclaim the wealth stolen over decades by the oligarchy, and build a movement that will return control of America to We the People.


Aristotle and Xenophon on Democracy and Oligarchy

Aristotle and Xenophon on Democracy and Oligarchy

Author: Aristotle

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2010-10-28

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0520266056

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This collection contains: Aristotle's The Constitution of Athens Xenophon's The Politeia of the Spartans The Constitution of the Athenians ascribed to Xenophon the Orator The Boeotian Constitution from the Oxyrhynchus Historian In bringing together, translating, and annotating these constitutional documents from ancient Greece thirty five years ago, J. M. Moore produced an authoritative work of the highest scholarship. An explanatory essay by classics scholar Kurt A. Raaflaub expands this indispensable collection.


The Oligarchs

The Oligarchs

Author: David E Hoffman

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2011-09-13

Total Pages: 610

ISBN-13: 161039111X

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In this saga of brilliant triumphs and magnificent failures, David E. Hoffman, the former Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post, sheds light on the hidden lives of Russia's most feared power brokers: the oligarchs. Focusing on six of these ruthless men— Alexander Smolensky, Yuri Luzhkov, Anatoly Chubais, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Boris Berezovsky, and Vladimir Gusinsky—Hoffman shows how a rapacious, unruly capitalism was born out of the ashes of Soviet communism.