On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 22:11, Jeffrey Walton <[email protected]> wrote: > Sparta, as one of the first democracies, had it right. They put the > public officials on trial when their term expired because they knew > what Class A fuck-ups they were. Its funny how that lesson was lost to > history. > > Jeff
Sparta in the Classical age and earlier was not a democracy. They were a set of invaders who had enslaved the native Hellenes in the area (as opposed to buying slaves or capturing slaves in battle, which is what the other Hellenic city-states did), and which had kings and enforced military servitude from approximately ages 8 to 50 or so. And, actually, Athens, though it was the Western birthplace of democracy, free speech and all that, wasn't a very pretty society itself. Aside from the primitive state of technology, they were a religion- and superstition-bound society to a degree that most modern cultures would have difficulty comprehending. Not something I think we should emulate. Kurt _______________________________________________ Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. Charter: http://lists.grok.org.uk/full-disclosure-charter.html Hosted and sponsored by Secunia - http://secunia.com/
