Democracy

A Life

By: Paul Cartledge

Narrated by: Paul Hodgson

Ancient Greece first coined the concept of democracy, yet almost every major ancient Greek thinker - from Plato and Aristotle onward - was ambivalent toward or even hostile to democracy in any form. The explanation for this is quite simple: The elite perceived majority power as tantamount to a dictatorship of the proletariat.

In ancient Greece, there can be traced not only the rudiments of modern democratic society but the entire Western tradition of antidemocratic thought. In Democracy, Paul Cartledge provides a detailed history of this ancient political system. In addition, by drawing out the salient differences between ancient and modern forms of democracy, he enables a richer understanding of both.

Cartledge contends that there is no one "ancient Greek democracy" as pure and simple as is often believed. Democracy surveys the emergence and development of Greek politics, the invention of political theory, and - intimately connected to the latter - the birth of democracy, first at Athens c. 500 BCE and then at its greatest flourishing in the Greek world 150 years later. Cartledge then traces the decline of genuinely democratic Greek institutions at the hands of the Macedonians and - subsequently and decisively - the Romans. Throughout, he sheds light on the variety of democratic practices in the classical world as well as on their similarities to and dissimilarities from modern democratic forms, from the American and French revolutions to contemporary political thought.

Authoritative and accessible, Cartledge's book will be regarded as the best account of ancient democracy and its long afterlife for many years to come.

©2016 Paul Cartledge (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Great Listen!

It’s something that’ll I’ll certainly listen to again — I’m a bit sheepish about the fact that I really need to listen again just to retain the big bits. It’s a little like a textbook, but that’s what I was looking for. It’s really good!

Brilliantly put together!!

Professor Cartledge does it again!! His ability to beautifully breakdown the information is nothing short of an art. He captivates the attention with a wrapped fascination unparalleled to any other authority in the field of classics.

As a lover of PanHellenic antiquity, this was a treat. Well done, Professor.

Choppy and mundane performance

This is a scholarly examination of democracy as applied to a system of government. Is a democracy such as in ancient Athens a viable system of government? Was a more representative democracy realistic? Or is an oligarchy, monarchy, autocratic government most feasible? Cartledge provides rich insights and critiques established scholarly authors. His references are rich and the bibliography is robust.

As to the Audible, sadly Paul Hodgson gives a choppy and mundane performance. His style of breaking down sentences as if he were reading verse, was extremely irritating and interfered with the flow and reading pleasure.

Disappointingly weak on evidence and logic

As an avid consumer of ancient history and philosophy, I was eager to hear a cogent, fact-based argument delineating the strengths and weaknesses of Greek institutions and how they compare to those around the world. Alas, the author reveals very little facts or history; he describes opponents whom he disagrees with, but won’t lay out an argument against them. The book is long on unsubstantiated interpretation and lacking data, narrative force, or real substance.