Perikles said: "Our system is called democratic politics, which is true, because political power is not in the hands of a few people, but in the hands of the majority." This is also the most famous democratic concept in Athens: the principle that the minority is subordinate to the majority. Although it reflects the essence of democracy, it still has shortcomings. The minority is subordinate to the majority, which is the eternal basic principle of democracy, but in Athens, it is very one-sided to emphasize only the importance of the majority and ignore the necessity of the minority. Athenian democracy does not contain minority principles, nor does it guarantee citizens' basic rights, freedom of speech and freedom of belief. Many outstanding thinkers and scientists have been misjudged by public courts. This is a tragedy caused by the Athenians' simple emphasis on the majority principle.
Second, the narrowness of the democratic subject.
Democracy is the political power of the people and the rule of the majority. At that time, Athens was in a slave society, and "people" could not include all people. Those "people" who can enjoy sovereignty are adult male citizens who occupy a small part of the city-state, while women and foreigners who live for a long time are excluded, and the situation of slaves is even more tragic. This reflects the exclusiveness and closeness of Athenian democracy. In addition, the characteristics of exclusivity are also very obvious. In the eyes of the Greeks, democracy only exists between people in the same city-state. These drawbacks naturally set deep boundaries between Greek citizens and other residents, as well as between city-state residents and foreign residents, which can easily lead to social unrest and internal disputes.
Third, the existence of slavery.
In the heyday of Athens, slaves accounted for the majority of the population of the city-state. They have no political rights and are legally deprived of their personality. They are just a kind of property and a tool for conversation. In the eyes of slave owners, cruel exploitation, mutilation and oppression of slaves are a matter of course. If Athens is a democratic city-state, why didn't a citizen stand up against slavery, instead, he regarded the slave's resistance as a gross violation and suppressed it? As a result, citizens are more and more greedy for pleasure, sedentary and follow politicians for personal interests. It can be seen that no matter how democratic Athens' political system is, it still cannot hide their cruel dictatorship over slaves.
Four. Conceptual legal system
Athens formed a simple legal system conceptually. However, this is just an idea. All the affairs of the city-state should be voted on the spot at the citizens' meeting, and every citizen should hold a clear attitude of opposition or approval. Many decision-makers lack necessary investigation, research, analysis and comparison, rather than rational judgment, which makes decision-making somewhat subjective, influenced by emotions, and confused by eloquent people without distinguishing between true and false. Absolute people's sovereignty degenerates into absolutism, which enables political careerists to incite and use people's emotions to achieve their own goals.
The institutional nature of the legal system needs to be guaranteed, which requires mutual restraint and independence of the judicial, administrative and legislative bodies. And once power is not restricted, it will inevitably be corrupt. Although the power of the citizens' assembly is restricted by certain laws, because it is also a legislature, it cannot achieve the purpose of mutual restriction, so that the law can serve its current government. The rule of man under this law has no binding effect at all.