Date: Thu, 1 Apr 99 16:04:48 EST
From: "Brian J. Callahan" <Brian=J.=Callahan%MT%DFCI-AT-EYE.DFCI.HARVARD.EDU>
Subject: re: Re: Kosovo Motives etc.


Andy writes:
>The Athenian Empire, Russell Meiggs, Oxford

>for anyone who's interested and wants to develop a slightly jaundiced 
>view of how direct participatory democracy [except women and slaves] 
>turned out. It's particularly good on the between the 
>lines of written history archaeological finds which show the 
>punitive tribute extraction from those who dared to revolt e.g. Samos 
>et al.

That does sound interesting.  But even from Thucydides' "History of the 
Pelleponesian(sp?) War" you can see how ruthless a participatory democracy  
can be.  I think it's still the problem of the state--the citizens who vote 
see the actions of the state as something apart from themselves, and so don't 
take individual responsibility for state action.