What did democracy really mean in Athens? - Melissa Schwartzberg
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-did-democracy-really-mean-in-athens-melissa-schwartzberg ↵↵While we might consider elections to be the cornerstone of democracy, the Athenians...
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Hey, congratulations! You've just won the lottery, only the prize isn't cash or a luxury cruise. It's a position in your country's national legislature. And you aren't the only lucky winner. All of your fellow lawmakers were chosen in the same way. This might strike you as a strange way to run a government, let alone a democracy. Elections are the epitome of democracy, right? Well, the ancient Athenians who coined the word had another view. In fact, elections only played a small role in Athenian democracy, with most offices filled by random lottery from a pool of citizen volunteers. Unlike the representative democracies common today, where voters elect leaders to make laws and decisions on their behalf, 5th Century BC Athens...
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Hey, congratulations! You've just won the lottery, only the prize isn't cash or a luxury cruise. It's a position in your country's national legislature. And you aren't the only lucky winner. All of your fellow lawmakers were chosen in the same way. This might strike you as a strange way to run a government, let alone a democracy. Elections are the epitome of democracy, right? Well, the ancient Athenians who coined the word had another view. In fact, elections only played a small role in Athenian democracy, with most offices filled by random lottery from a pool of citizen volunteers. Unlike the representative democracies common today, where voters elect leaders to make laws and decisions on their behalf, 5th Century BC Athens...
