[Keywords:] Athens, democratic politics, citizens' assembly, jury court, limitations
First, the embodiment of democracy in Athens
The emergence and embodiment of democracy in Athens. Democracy in Athens originated from clan society. During the period of slavery, it realized the transformation from monarchy to oligarchy presided over by nine ruling judges. Later, after delacour's legislation, Solon's reform, Cleisthenes's reform and Draco Perikles's reform, the democratic politics in Athens finally arrived. The word "democracy" first appeared in Herodotus' History. In ancient Greek, "democracy" is a combination of "Demos" and "Kratia", that is, people's rights and people's rule. "Democracy" in Italian, English, German, French and Russian all evolved from it. Respect for personality, protection of human rights and civil autonomy are the concentrated expressions of Greek democracy. Democratic political thought reached the highest level in this period, which was prominently reflected in the right to vote, to judge, to supervise and to administer.
(1) electoral system. Athens achieved direct democracy, not representative system, which was mainly reflected in the citizens' assembly. All citizens of Athens who have reached the age of 20 should directly participate in the citizens' assembly and elect important public officials of the city-state. Its functions and powers are to elect and examine government officials, amend laws, settle financial revenues and expenditures, decide to declare war and make peace, conclude and terminate covenants and evaluate military achievements. For example, "the election of consuls and ten generals will be held at the citizens' meeting [1]". The citizens' assembly is the highest authority in Athens. It is held two or four times a month, and every citizen has the right to vote in parliament. Pericles said: "As long as a citizen has any merit, he will be promoted to any position. This is a reward for his merits, which is different from privilege. Poverty is no longer an obstacle, and anyone can benefit the country, regardless of his situation. The citizens' assembly elected 500 members of the board of directors, jurors and general administrators by drawing lots.
(2) the judicial system. After Solon's reform, ten jury courts were established in Athens, each with an average of 500 people, who were elected by the citizens' assembly for a term of one year and could not be re-elected. Jurors are male citizens who have reached the age of 30 and decided by lot. As the highest judicial organ, the jury court has the right to accept citizens' "illegal complaints". The case was accepted in court. After the original defendant argued with the defendant, the jury voted in secret and won the case with the largest number of votes. Because the jury's judgment is a first-instance judgment or a final judgment, "any vote of the jury officer should have the highest effect [3]".
(3) supervision system. The monitoring system in Athens is quite developed. The jury court is not only the highest judicial organ, but also the highest supervisory organ, and has the power to approve or veto the 500-member parliament. In addition, citizens can also exercise supervision. In Athens, the election of officials must be strictly supervised by citizens.
The qualifications of 1 need to be examined, including: origin, property, personality, belief, respect for parents, military service, etc. Take the consul as an example. His qualifications are first reviewed by a 500-member Council. If there are any problems, they are submitted to the court for judgment and decide whether to take office.
Officials should also be inspected during their term of office. If the consul and the general hold a vote of confidence in each presidium to see if he is competent, if the vote is against any official, he will go to the jury court for trial, and if guilty, he will be sentenced to a penalty or a fine, and if not guilty, he will be reinstated [3](p64).
Officials will be reviewed after their term expires. When he leaves office, a special person will check his property during his tenure. If there is corruption and bribery, it will be sent to the court for judgment, and generally it will be fined ten times the illegal income [4].
4 illegal complaints. Any Athenian citizen who thinks a law is illegal has the right to appeal to the jury court. During the appeal, the law will be suspended, and if a positive judgment is made, the law will be revoked.
5 shell exile method. He is the most distinctive system in Cleisthenes's legislative reform, targeting officials who abuse their powers, endanger national interests and infringe on civil rights. Every spring, at the meeting of non-citizens, whether there are exiles is put forward by oral vote, and if there are, the second meeting is held. Everyone writes the names of people he thinks should be exiled on pottery or shells.
(4) administrative system. As a permanent body of the general assembly, the 500-member general assembly is responsible for handling government affairs, preparing proposals for the general assembly and presiding over the general assembly. The administrative officials in Athens are tax-free, unpaid and have a clear division of labor. There are mainly six kinds of judicial consuls, ancestral consuls, king consuls and military consuls, and there are officials at all levels below. But they are produced in different ways. The six judicial consuls and their secretaries were all elected by lot, while the king consul, father consul and military consul each had two assistants, who were elected by themselves. These people's qualifications are examined by the jury court before taking office, and they need to report when they leave office.
Second, the limitations of Athenian democracy
The democratic politics in Athens covers the inherent requirements of democratic politics to a certain extent, and implements optional system in mechanism; Give the whole people the opportunity to participate in the form; In practice, by the time of Pericles, it had completely got rid of the control of aristocrats, and the embryonic form of "three powers" had appeared, but it also inevitably had limitations caused by historical factors.
(A), the right to limit
1 "civil rights" restrictions. Athenians have a strong sense of citizenship. In the political life of the polis, only Athenian citizens enjoy their rights. Citizenship and the title of citizenship were extremely important to the Athenians. If a person has only huge wealth and a well-known family, but does not enjoy civil rights, then he loses the value and significance of existence. In fact, Athens deprived the broad masses of lower-level workers of their democratic rights by restricting civil rights. In ancient Greece, the citizen city-state originated from Polites, which means city wall. The original meaning of Polis is the person who lives in the city wall. In ancient Latin, Civilis is also related to the city wall Civitas. Civil society was first formed in the city-state of the ancient Mediterranean world. But this does not mean that all residents within the city wall are equal. In 43 BC1year, the number of residents in Athens was about 400,000, while only 42,000 people enjoyed civil rights, accounting for only about110 of the total population [5]. (1), not everyone who lives in Athens is regarded as a human being. In Athens, more than 1/3 slaves were regarded as the property and tools of slave owners and could be bought and sold freely. In Rome, once only native Romans were citizens of Rome, and even Italians, known as "Roman allies", did not have civil rights. The scope of civil society in Rome was too narrow (2), and "not all people who were treated as people could become citizens of Athens, and foreigners and businessmen did not enjoy civil rights" [6]. (3), "On the one hand, the acquisition of Athenian city-state citizenship depends on whether their parents are citizens of the country" [3] (P 189). On the other hand, it depends on whether they have land suitable for their citizenship. (4) Most people engaged in industry and commerce in Athens were slaves and foreigners. "People in this state will be disqualified from engaging in industry and commerce for a certain period of time [7]". (5) Women who account for more than half of the adult population, no matter what class they belong to, have no right to obtain citizenship, let alone participate in the political activities of the city-state. The extremely low status of women in Athens is closely related to the traditional customs of ancient Greece. As far as the ruling ability is concerned, Plato believes that "women are capable of governing the country, but they are always inferior to men in everything [8]". Aristotle further pointed out: "The difference between men and women is natural, because men can control their lust with reason, while women often become prisoners of lust." As the cornerstone of other democratic rights, the narrowness of civil rights reveals that Athenian democracy is still a form of slave owners' dictatorship in essence, and state power is always in their hands.
2. Limitations of the realization of "citizenship". Democracy in Athens is nominally open to all citizens, but in fact, citizens who account for about110 of the total population may not fully enjoy and exercise their rights. They must also be restricted by internal and external factors, but in fact, few citizens can really enjoy the rights stipulated by law. (1), the most essential connotation of law in law should be equality, and there should be no exceptions and privileges. "When all the people in the country hold the supreme power, it is democratic politics; Some people in the Republic of China have the highest power, which is aristocratic politics. [9] "Athens is famous for its rule of law and democracy. More ironically, Solon said, "We have made laws to treat all nobles equally and provide justice for everyone [10]". On the other hand, citizens are divided into four classes according to the amount of property, that is, five hundred buckets (Pentacasiomedimni), knights (Hippes), two cows (Zeugitae) and daily servants (thetes), and citizens of each class are given different rights respectively. For example, in the reform of the 400-member parliament and jury court, citizens of the fourth grade are not allowed to participate, and senior officials can only be held by citizens of the first and second grades. The third level can only serve as a junior official, but the fourth level registration cannot serve as any public office [6] (P24). (2) Money is tight. Among those who have civil rights, those who are poor and live far away from the city-state cannot exercise their civil rights, and only one tenth of the total citizens can participate in politics. The reason is that financial resources have become the biggest constraint. First of all, the Athenian polis attached great importance to the meritorious military service and public service. Every citizen who can truly and completely enjoy political participation must perform military service and defend his city-state. For soldiers who had to bring their own weapons and food at that time, they must have purchasing power, thus excluding those poor citizens from political participation. Herold once said, "If you don't have enough food to save, … then you shouldn't attend the citizens' meeting and listen to the court proceedings. [1 1] "Secondly, Athens implemented direct democracy, and its political activities were very frequent every year. A town meeting is held every ten days, and there are more other activities. Such frequent political activities are economically unbearable for ordinary citizens. In addition, the official system in Athens was free in the early days. Although the later public office allowance guaranteed ordinary citizens the opportunity to hold ordinary public offices, "but the most important generals who hold real power still don't get their salaries, so it is extremely difficult compared with ordinary citizens [12]". The lower classes are forced by life and dare not ask for it. (3) Time limit for citizens. As mentioned above, citizens go to Athens for meetings every ten days or so. Although they can get some subsidies, they are required to give up farm work regardless of farming time, and it is difficult for craftsmen to give up production, especially for citizens far away from the polis. Too many democratic meetings have caused serious conflicts with production and life, and these people are still unable to exercise their civil rights. (4), the limitation of the ability to participate in politics. As the highest organ of state power, the citizens' assembly lasts only one day at a time, but the problems it needs to solve are very complicated. From war to disputes, we must ask questions and the procedures are extremely strict. Only a few talented and high-ranking people have the right to speak. Speech eloquence is particularly striking at this time, and most talents in Athens were discovered at this time. For example, several outstanding political leaders in ancient Greece were excellent speakers. For ordinary people, if there is no echo from the majority, I am afraid it is difficult to have any appeal. In this case, ordinary people must have their own strong military strength to participate in the city-state. After the formation of the Athenian Empire, a huge army was needed to fight against the Persian invasion, Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. This part of the soldiers can't participate. According to statistics, "the number of people who can often attend the citizens' assembly only accounts for about 1/5 of the total number of citizens." [ 13]
3 unscientific elections. Elections are an indispensable part of Athenian life. All public officials are elected, but their scientific nature is also questioned. (1) Democratic election is not in harmony with the mode of production. As mentioned above, the democratic political life in Athens frequently causes "political obesity", which is in serious contradiction with the seasonality and particularity of the production activities of the broad masses of workers, leading to the deep imbalance of various functions of social life and the dysfunction of other mechanisms. (2) the originality of the voting method. Drawing lots and voting by show of hands occupy an absolute position in Athenian democracy, and many government officials are produced from this. For example, the actual role of 5000 people in 10 jury court in democracy. Its randomness and luck overshadowed the practical significance of democracy to some extent. We can't deny the practical role of a show of hands in direct democracy, but the legitimate rights and interests of voters, especially the right to express their wishes without interference, can't be guaranteed. (3) We should not make the best use of elections. In the lottery election, citizens can't freely choose competent occupations according to their own interests and specialties, ignoring the special requirements between different public offices, which is not conducive to the display of citizens' specialties. This is not only detrimental to the effectiveness of the work, but even counterproductive. Socrates once pointed out: "It is very foolish to draw lots with beans to elect national leaders. No one wants to hire a helmsman, an architect or a piper by drawing lots with beans ... and if you do something wrong in these things, the damage will be much lighter than governing the country. [ 14]"
(B) the limitations of the trial system
1 Inequality of criminal punishment. Regarding the punishment of crimes, Plato publicly believed that "different punishments can be imposed according to crimes [15]". In practice, Athenian law divides Athenians into three types, one is national citizens, the other is foreign citizens, and the third is slaves. The general principle of punishment is to punish the rich more and protect the rights and interests of citizens in this country. Citizens in this state can be fined for hurting freemen, foreigners can be deported for hurting freemen, and slaves may be sentenced to death, because slaves exist as property and can't talk about rights.
The first trial is final. Athens implemented the first instance and the final instance for the sake of trial efficiency, and its disadvantages were obvious. The judgment is final and cannot be appealed, because there is no court of appeal, and the court of first instance represents the will of all citizens. "And only male citizens have the secondary right to sue [16]", which is not conducive to punishing criminals and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of innocent people objectively.
3 professional quality restrictions. For ordinary officials, there is no strict quality requirement, and there is no difference between having both ability and political integrity in appointment. Jurors are ordinary citizens, and most of them lack necessary legal knowledge. Socrates once criticized Athenian democracy: "Its fundamental flaw is that it does not require its leaders to have any special knowledge, and it entrusts the fate of society to people who lack insight." Coupled with the imperfect laws at that time, there was no systematic written law, and many cases could only be judged subjectively by individuals, so such trials were more random. Moreover, there was no lawyer at that time, and the judgment was based on the plaintiff's complaint and the defendant's reply. People who are not good at words often lose. "In most litigation cases, the outcome of litigation mainly depends not on the merits of the case, but on the attitudes of the parties and their witnesses, as well as the friends who speak for them in court, whether they are innocent, whether they tell the truth, their speaking skills and whether their actions are correct. [17] "On the one hand, it caused unfair trials, on the other hand, it also buried talents.
(3) Limitations of supervision system
1 proposal responsibility system. The responsibility system of Athens' proposal dealt a heavy blow to the supervision system. "If the new bill proposed by the citizens' assembly conflicts with the basic law of the city-state, not only will the bill be revoked, but the sponsor will also be severely punished. [6](p24) "Since then, the general public's sense of supervision has collapsed, and even many illegal acts are afraid to ask.
2 Tao exile method. The Tao pian exile law was originally intended to expel those recognized perpetrators from the country, but it did deprive citizens who were only suspects of their right to defense, making them unable to express their wishes effectively and even losing their citizenship. That kind of pure subjective conscious behavior may make the pioneers who really have advanced ideas unacceptable and miserable. Socrates' death had nothing to do with it. Those outstanding figures and a few people who can really grasp the truth often become victims of the times and new ideas are suppressed.
Use public power for personal gain. On the one hand, the citizens' meeting in Athens embodies democracy, on the other hand, it is used by some careerists. At every town meeting, soybean oil may be stirred up by eloquent careerists. "Some citizens, regardless of the majority or minority of all citizens, unite and, driven by certain feelings or interests, oppose the rights of other citizens or the permanent and collective interests of society" [18], resulting in the tyranny of the majority. This absolute obedience of the minority to the majority often does not represent the interests of the public, but knowledge is a formal consensus. Rousseau once pointed out: "There is often a great difference between general will and general will. The general will always put public interest first, and the general will always put self-interest first, and self-interest is only the sum of individual will [19] ". For example, the mistake in the expedition to Sicily was the result of the schemer Ki Bias deceiving everyone, which made Athens lose its elite navy against Sparta. In 406 BC, the "victory tragedy of the naval battle of Akiniuxi" caused a large number of military talents to die. These are the actions taken by the ambitious figures of the ruling group for their own selfish desires and to clarify their political enemies, which are inseparable from the defects of the supervision system.
(D) overstaffed authority, mixed power constraints.
There are too many workers in 1. As mentioned above, Athens' politics was based on direct democracy, and even later generations called his politics "poor politics". Democracy in Athens was maintained by a huge government agency. According to statistics, Athens has 6,000 jurors, 1600 archers, 1000 knights, 500 members of parliament, 1000 guards, 700 domestic officials and 2,500 armed soldiers, in addition to other public servants. More than 20,000 people were "only 2,556 square kilometers, and the population in the heyday of the Athens Empire was only 400,000 [20]", which was already quite large under the economic conditions at that time. Aristotle estimated that "one in six Athenian citizens may hold some kind of official position every year [2 1]". No wonder Aristotle lamented: "Man is a born political animal [22]". In addition, there are national gatherings. Its social and economic costs are unbearable, which will eventually lead to "political obesity" in Athens.
2. Work allowance. Workers' allowance is a reform in Pericles to attract lower-class citizens to participate in city-state management, but on the other hand, these allowances are taken from the people and used in politics, which increases the economic burden of lower-class citizens. Formally, it encourages them to participate in politics, but in essence, it uproots them-a person who has no livelihood has no intention of participating in politics.
Three in one. In Athens, all administrative officials did not form a government with the consent of an administrative head. All administrative officials with different terms of office are directly elected by the parliament and other institutions and are responsible to the parliament or its corresponding institutions. In this way, the assembly itself has to deal with many specific administrative affairs, and it is difficult to separate the legislative power from the executive power. Moreover, jury courts not only exercise judicial power, but also participate in legislation. Its chairman is equivalent to the head of state for one day and one night. It can manage the affairs of the polis, and its authority division and setting are mixed and overlapping.
In addition to the above restrictions, there are still many shortcomings in Athens' democratic politics, such as frequent regime changes, short terms of office of officials at all levels, and short working hours except for the transfer of power, which makes the work lack continuity and enthusiasm, which is not conducive to the accumulation of experience and the improvement of sense of responsibility. Limited by the space here, I won't discuss it in detail.
Third, the conclusion
The democratic politics in Athens reached its peak in ancient times, providing valuable experience and wealth for later generations, especially for countries with civil law system, providing historical materials for modern democratic politics and the earliest cornerstone for the development of modern democratic politics. However, it inevitably has historical limitations and imperfections, but from a historical point of view, Athens' democratic politics is worse than that of other countries of its time. While looking at history correctly, we can learn from it and strive to create today's modern democracy.