How ancient Greek democracies wrestled with the tension between egalitarianism and hierarchical structures necessary for organized government.
Democracy and egalitarianism are ever in tension. The ideal of direct democracy—equal participation in all aspects of governance—coexists with the reality that hierarchical structures are necessary to organize and stabilize the workings of the state. This tension consumed America’s founders. And two thousand years earlier, it had consumed the people of Athens.
King Demos shows how ancient Greek democracies wrestled with this problem, crafting what the Federalist Papers would later dream of, “a republican remedy for the diseases most incident to republican government.” As Athens grew and direct democracy became unwieldy, the Greeks developed a system of delegation, with the “people” (demos) conceived as a king with authority over a sprawling system of state officials whose day-to-day operation was handled by experts. Hierarchical structures became commonplace in the city, yet sovereign powers remained with the citizenry. Andrew Alwine argues that delegation was a stepping stone between direct and representative democracy and provided a crucial compromise, enabling the Greeks to benefit from the abilities of elite citizens while also keeping them under control.