Political-Historical Context Of The Political System In Athens

Political-historical context of the political system in Athens

Introduction

There are different political systems, with different objectives and themes that have been developed throughout history. The political system in Athens has certain specific characteristics, and it is very curious and interesting to know how this political system was handled in order to build the common good. The common good sought as its name says, a good that encompasses the whole society, seeing their qualities for together to form a perfect society together.

It is of great uncertainty to know how that common good was limited and what it consisted of because not all people could have that common good since their political system was not just in view of all. The common good not only consisted of physical or economic well -being, but also covered social conditions so that all people can acquire their happiness.

There are different types of definitions or concepts that some authors have given about political system and common good. And later we will see their views because they define these categories according to the time they developed and according to what they have lived, expressing their concepts from their perceptions.

Personally, the issue is interesting because before modernity arrived, Athens had its own laws and norms where citizens had to obey them. On the other hand, the sages are fundamental to the Athenians, since they were those of the senior citizens who already had the experience, philosophers who already knew and knew everything, at least they were considered.

Next, it will be argued how the political system builds the common good, who are the ones involved so that it arises well and what is done to achieve it.

Developing

Athens, is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was a state with maritime relationships. It stands out for two great events: the creation and organization of democracy, which is the central theme, and the creation of a maritime empire. The Athenian polis was promoted in the century of Pericles, policy related issues began to discuss. They were the first to publicize a new political system where the vote was the base and in which they could govern themselves.

To know the historical-political context, a tour must be made until reaching the century of pericles. At first, Athens had a patriarchal system, as families were grouped into tribes and highlighted one of them, above the others. For this reason the monarchy was created, the monarch was the one who directed the political and military affairs and his first king was Theseus, who is attributed the union of the polis in Athens. In the archaic era, in the S.VII, the owners of the Earth decided to create an aristocracy where they chose the magistrates annually, called "Arcontes" who ruled in their name. To evade abuse of power, they set the laws in writing.

These two governments were very violent and one of their consequences was that those who had debts became slaves;To eliminate this situation, it was decided to create the Dracón Code, who was the first legislator of the second government. However, there was no expected result, since this caused the barbarism to appear.

To prevent a war, the people decided to rely on Solon, one of Greece’s seven wise men, in 594 to.C. Solón was consideration of an honest man and made reforms such as limiting the right of life, dividing the people into social classes and abolished slavery by debts. Solon was also the one who created the Bulé, also known as a council that was composed of 400 members, also created the Ecclesia or Assembly of the citizens and instituted the Helie.

After Solon, the people were still dissatisfied with land distribution. For this reason, the tyrant appears in authority. Pisstrate during his tyranny could enrich Athens. And it was in tyranny where the people had a feeling of equality before political rights.

Already in the year 510 to.C. It can be said that democracy was born in Athens. Clístenes, who could grant citizens to all free men and gave Athens their specific political organization system. Clístenes reorganized the 400 council, which went on to have 500 members that were ten tribes of Athens. The Assembly of Citizens increased, as Metecos, foreigners and libertos were introduced.

He was also the author of the creation of "ostracism". This did so that tyranny did not overcome democracy. Therefore, Ecclesia had the power to exile that person who was considered risky for popular sovereignty for a while. This was done through a democratic process, since each citizen could vote in secret in the oyster (clay shell) in which the name of the citizen who wanted to exile was. It should be noted that the banished did not lose citizenship, could be forgiven in a new vote of the Assembly.

Pericles, who ruled at 445 to.C. He was the one who led democracy to its maximum, because it was the one who perfected it. Pericles had the intention that citizens had to participate in the creation of a common life. He established the right to free shows for the plebe. He rebuilt the acropolis, ordered Niké’s temples and the erection to build. And the most important symbol of Athens, the part.

According to Aristotle’s opinion (1983), “the perfect community is the polis…, it arose to meet the vital needs of man, but its purpose is to allow him to live well … the man who, naturally and not for chance, does not live in the polisis infrahuman or superhuman.”(P.35) Well, the polis were independent cities-states of ancient Greece considered as spaces that offer well-being to citizens and that there is no better place to live in the polis.

They emerged in the dark age in the sinecism process, since many divided territories were unified forming one, thus being a strong territory. These polis were both economically and politically. They were the first to exercise political participation. And for this reason, the political system that seemed more fair and sure, the democracy that reached its amplification with pericles was achieved.

Fundamental political categories for essay

After having presented a brief historical – politician tour of Athens and see what has happened after several different governments until finally reaching a political system where the people were "pleased" it is possible to question the good of this system. That is, the people, having crossed barbarism, tyrannies, violence and other negative actions, with this political system built a common good, the doubt is how it did it. To do this, we must know what is the concept of political system and what is the common good.

Dahl (1991) presents the requirements for a good political system stating that:

“A policy tends to the common good, yes: 1. Maximize general well -being. two. If the well -being of the greatest number of individuals increases. 3. If it improves the relative situation of those who are worse. 4. If you improve the absolute situation of those who are worse.”(P. 10)

These 4 points organize an adequate system for polis. Presents rules that for him are those that define the common good. Starting from this event, specific characteristics arise from both the common good and the political system that will help understand how the political system builds the common good and its limitations.

The order in the political system was essential for a good organization and administration. Each person who had an important role in this system had to maintain the entire polis informed of everything that was carried out and the objectives that this political system had on the polis, so Aristotle (1983) states that “a political regime such as ordinationof the diverse magistrates existing in the cities with sovereign power and that reported about how these magistrates were distributed (what were the sovereign organs and what were the purposes of the governed community).”(P. 22)

Interaction is what Easton highlights, then, without a correct and adequate interaction towards citizens, the system will not work. It is not only about politics, but also the social conditions of citizens enter. Due to social interactions, values arise, these values are those that are implemented to a society. The desired political system in order to obtain a common good produced changes, and therefore new values and virtues. For this reason, Easton (1969) defines the system as a politician as “a set of political interactions. What distinguishes political interactions from other social interactions is that they are oriented towards the authoritarian assignment of values to a society ”(P. twenty-one)

It should be noted that Athenians resisted democracy as a political regime. For this reason, they were grouped into small communities in which the will of each Athenian imported. In this political system, man could have the freedom to say and do anything for himself, this freedom produced in him, a happy life. In this way, it offered the balance of wills that all men wanted, instead of being below one that of one. The harmony of everyone’s wills were chosen instead of the existence of a hierarchy that belittled others and only exercised social order. Thanks to this, Athens had everyone’s support, the city belonged to everyone.

Castillo (2016) In his essay he affirms the following:

When individual happiness is achieved, it is possible to achieve coexistence, the common good, collective happiness, which leads us to its policy and the virtue of justice. The purpose of politics is justice and a polis, a state is just when there is harmony and happiness among all its citizens. Plato proposes his ideal state, the Republic, in which each individual according to their nature reaches their perfection and fulfills the function that is its own. (p.5)

Harmony and happiness are virtues that all people yearn to reach, especially in this time where Athenians wanted to achieve a fair political system and for them they sought the requirements to achieve that goal. A state with happiness would mean that it is a fair state with the purpose that all citizens can live with well -being and tranquility, without focusing on material, only with the organization, administration and listening to each other.

These three definitions about the political system have the order in common. That is, a political system must have a good organization so that it can work, so that the State is fair, the form of organization should be known, how was the distribution of the system and most importantly, the purpose that this political system had. However, according to Plato for a state to be fair, there must be harmony and happiness among citizens, it must be ordered, but it is not important to know what this system consists of but in the sensations that the people must have, feel happy and safe. Because if citizens are harmonious there is a common good.

The common good is not only about material things, but:

That common good does not simply consist of what citizens of the same city necessarily share;such as the territory, the exchanges of goods, the division of labor;but it consists especially in a "happy and good" life, sufficient and perfect common life. Sufficient life, because in the ‘polis’ there are the circumstances that make possible what the isolated individual or family cannot achieve (Belmonte, 2006, p. 66)

Expresses the common good with virtues, justice high.

There is no democracy, there is no city without a common good, without a common. The concept of freedom enters. This means that citizens had to elaborate the common good. And for this they had to make efforts and changes in their life.

The resignation basically implies doing things that you might enjoy doing or saying thinking about good for the rest. Certain characteristics and actions must be renounced so that there is coexistence and harmony among citizens. Accepting the qualities and defects of others. With this, Poole (2008) defines that:

“The contribution to the common good has almost always been presented as a kind of renunciation of rights for the sake of coexistence, a kind of minor evil that we would have no choice but to accept if we want to live together. In most cases we were presented as a barter of freedom for security ”(P. 105)

Relates this as a barter between freedom for security. And for security it is that certain things are renounced that affect the others. To achieve a link of harmony with others and be able to live without problems, respecting the decisions and opinions of others.

To culminate with this category, Castillo (2016) states that:

“The common good of a social group is therefore the common purpose by which the members of a society have been constituted and related to it. This common good has as distinctive characteristic the fact that by its very nature it is essentially participable and communicable to the members of the social group. It is precisely the good that is common to the members of the group, that they have joined and related around that purpose, and therefore around that common good.”(P.8)

Compare the common good with a relationship that people make, a relationship that was already implanted. Individuals had already been born with that characteristic by nature, so that the fact that there is the common good arises as normal. In the common good everyone puts from part to be fulfilled among the members of a group.

These three authors who define a common good, are related in different ways, but reach the same point, which is common well -being. The Athenians as mentioned before, they were looking for a fair political system and the one that benefited everyone, so that the common good is an essential point for democracy, which is the beneficial political system for citizens.

According to Dahl, the requirements to achieve democracy included: common interests, homogeneity, reduced quantity (not everyone could vote), permanent meetings (time needed to go to these), participation and territorial autonomy. If these points were fulfilled, democracy existed and therefore they would have reached the most appropriate political system for the polis.

CASE – CONFLICT IN THE PERICLES GOVERNMENT

Pericles contributed several things to the polis of Athens, including architectural remodeling, as it ordered several constructions that were and are very important for Athens. The majority of works had religious and the most important themes were: the temple of Zeus of Olimpia, the temple of Apollo de Delphos and without a doubt the one that most reflects importance is acropolis. With these structures and many more managed to beautify Athens.

The Athens government had three important principles: the equality of speech (Isegoria) that was the right that anyone had to listen to it, without having to be judged for it. Knowledge was taken into account, the idea itself, regardless of how it expressed itself. They had to have equal expression. Equality before the Law (isonomy) that were those civil and political rights of citizens that must be equal to all, just like laws. And finally freedom, this was conditioned by knowledge or wisdom. Because if the knowledge required for any event was not possessed, this person could not participate in it. For them only those men who were linked to knowledge as the wise or virtuous possessed of freedom.

There must be virtue, justice and happiness. Good citizens must be formed, seeking the common good, everyone must be good and educated. Therefore, the philosophers were the ones who educated citizens, because they were considered wise, since by belonging to the elderly they were experience and it was they who knew of all the issues and were adequate to prepare citizens. They should also be good warriors so they were prepared to combat with intelligence and cunning, be superior to their rivals.

Plato (381 A.C) states that world problems cannot be solved as long as philosophers do not govern;since only they, well educated and trained, have the ability to harmonize all the elements of human life under the government of wisdom. He supported the previously argued, because philosophers are those who were prepared to train citizens and only they could organize the state under harmony.

The organization of the political system was divided into three social classes:

Citizens were those children of men, over 18, born from mother and mother properly from Athens. They were dedicated to crafts, land cultivation or were day laborers. Citizens had freedom of political rights.

Metecos or foreigners were free people, resided in Athens, but were not born in Athens. They had no chance of committing to an Athenian citizen or citizen, they could not have properties or political law. Foreigners paid a tax because they were residents and it was their obligation to provide military service. They were dedicated to activities such as sculpture, painting or philosophy.

Slaves were not considered people. They had no civil and political law. They were slaves those by birth, for a imposed punishment or for being a prisoner of war. They could be sold, rented, mistreated, and forced to perform all kinds of jobs. Most of these slaves did not belong to Greece.

The women, although they were daughters or wives of the citizens themselves could not participate in public events. They lived in a total patriarchy, they did not participate in parties or public public, they had no rights. Only men could possess them. The vast majority of women worked as sellers, midwives, nodrizas etc. They had neither voice nor vote.

The most characterizing institutions were the following:

The magistrates were under popular control and dealt with public office and formed the State Administration. They were chosen by bean system. Depending on the color of the person, the person, white or black, defined the position. These charges did not have much duration, because the chosen person was allowed to be in office for a year. After this year, each magistrate presented accounts and reported the state of the heritage.

The people’s assembly is the first organ of democracy. It was located in front of the acropolis. The meetings were approximately forty times a year. Here the laws and decrees decided. The vote of divided into two, first the assembly itself and then the Council or boule.

The Council or Boule was composed of 500 members, 50 for each tribe. These were chosen by the bean system. They were dedicated to monitoring the magistrates and for the daily administration to be on the right track.

conclusion

In short, democracy was the most beneficial political system for the city of Athens. Had the objective of being a system that would provide the common good. Therefore, Pericles wanted to perfect it so that Athens is a city to admire thus imposing the classes, architectural constructions thus embellishing the city and especially the institutions that were the basis of the government.

Due to the changes that have been made so that the political system of Athens offers common to its citizens and all the texts that have been written so that people know how systems have changed over time and their respective norms and laws areHe has been able to know this political system, democracy, which offered a good for its citizens.

Therefore, from the previously appointed institutions, the specific organization established in society and with pericles accentuating democracy as a political system. Thus making Athens know as a fair city and for having their citizens satisfied and proud to be attenne, thus building the common good.