Newsletter (SI) Feature Article

Outline - It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace,
that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty. - James Monroe

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/james_monroe_310486?src=t_corrupt

 Failure of Greek Democracy

o Starting with Greek Democracy (Council of 400/500)
o With the fact that anyone could become a leader, reason was needed more than ever.
The proposed solution was the Sophists
 These sophists did not teach reason however, but taught rhetoric
o They believed in Relativism, where the individual determined what was truth
o Even more worrying the Sophists taught greedy, selfish values
o As a result, during the Peloponnesian war, faulty leadership destroyed Athens
o Corruption took the most rational society and destroyed it

(133 Words)

James Monroe, a founding father of America, once said "It is only when the people become ignorant and
corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty."
In the democratic societies, both ran into problems of corruption, but with Athens, a faulty leadership
was their demise.

Since the beginning of Athenian democracy in 508 BC, people participated directly in their government.
In the beginning, corruption was carefully controlled, where "one citizen seemed to be usurping power,
the citizens could vote to ostracize him." (Zucker and Harris 1:54-1:57) With control of corruption,
Athens flourished, with great works and philosophers, such as the Parthenon, Socrates, and Oedipus the
King. However, this took a turn for the worse, when after the Battle of Salamis, any male citizen could
become a leader by lottery in the Council of 500.

The people of Athens already directly participated in government with laws, but because any male
citizen could become a leader, the need for education was become increasingly important. The
proposed solution was the Sophists, similar to modern day tutors. However, instead of teaching civic
virtue (good of the state) sophists taught greedy virtues such as "laws don't need to be obeyed because
they were not made by the Gods, but by powerful people for their own benefit," which proved to be
very dangerous. (Athenian Democracy, 9)

In the Peloponnesian War of 431 BCE the disaster of corruption in Athenian Democracy was highlighted.
Due to faulty leadership, the war against Sparta was brutally lost. The uncoordinated shift in strategies
accompanied with Persia's might on Sparta's side led Athens to defeat. As a result, tyrannies were set up
and poverty became widespread. Looking for a scapegoat, Socrates, the voice of reason was executed
and the glory of Athens was lost. The short 77-year reign of democracy ultimately failed because of
corruption.
Zucker, Steve, and Beth Harris. "The Athenian Agora and the Experiment in
Democracy." Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-
civilizations/greek-art/classical/v/athenian-agora. Lecture.