Periclean Athens

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Pericles of Athens was the inventor of democracy. Only in ancient Athens and in the United States so far has democracy lasted for as much as two hundred years (it collapsed in Athens until the Enlightenment). Monarchy and different forms of despotism, on the other hand, have gone on for millennia. . Note that they addressed immortality! As the idea that your contribution will never be forgotten. Immortality became acessible to all.

• Spartan aristocracy was the main contender to democracy of Athens
• Originally, democracy valued reason and intelligence - as a sound guiding light that can inspire.
• Athens had open learning as opposed to secrecy in Sparta. (Sparta was a slave state, 85% slaves)
  • Note that athens won eventually (world is turning democratic)
• But the most original aspect of Pericles’ vision for Athens was its expectation of an enduring peace
  • But at the same time Athens was a military power (navy)
• But for immortality, Athens had to solve the problem of peace, as only glorious war heroes gained fame to date
  • Solution: the prosperity and power of collaborative cultural advancement! Exactly the incentive that OSE is seeking for its campuses.
  • to make this popular - this must be scalable. Thus, we invest all resources into (1) prosperity, and (2) cultural advancement of a full life of meaning and purpose
  • By sharing in the common responsibility he was able to develop powers and aspects of himself that allowed him to become more fully human than he could have on his own.
    • Note that this includes responsibilitiy
• It limited the scope and power of the state, leaving enough space for individual freedom, privacy, and the human dignity of which they are a crucial part. It rejected the leveling principle pursued by both ancient Sparta and modern socialism, which requires the suppression of those rights.
• By recognizing only individuals, not separate groups, its laws preserved the unity needed by all healthy societies and avoided the shattering rivalries that destroy them.
• By rewarding merit, it avoided the unnatural leveling that is the hallmark of tyranny and encouraged the individual achievement and excellence that makes life sweet and raises the quality of life for everyone.
• Above all, Pericles helped the Athenians to understand that their private needs, both moral and material, required the kind of community Athens had become.
• Therefore, they were willing to run risks in its defense, make sacrifices on its behalf, and restrain their passions and desires to preserve it.
• To create democracy:
  • The new democracies will, therefore, need leaders in the Periclean mold, leaders who know that the aim and character of true democracy should be to elevate their citizens to the highest attainable level
  • Know that cutting down the greatest to assuage the envy of the least is the way of tyranny
  • doomed perversions of the Periclean vision are described by Plato and Aristotle?
  • Such a vision and such leadership are not readily available in our era. -