The original meaning of democracy: Capacity to do things, not majority rule (Article) -- Ancient History Encyclopedia

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The original meaning of democracy: Capacity to do things, not majority rule

by Josiah Ober, Stanford University (submitted by Jan van der Crabben)
published on 07 November 2011

That the original meaning of democracy is “capacity to do things” not “majority rule” emerges from a study of the fifth and fourth century B.C. Greek vocabulary for regime-types. Special attention is given to –kratos root and –arche root terms. Paper delivered at the American Political Science Association meetings, Philadelphia, 2006.

Written by Josiah Ober, Stanford University, linked by Jan van der Crabben, published 07 November 2011. Source URL: http://www.princeton.edu/~pswpc/pdfs/ober/090704.pdf.

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