Question

How are Athenian direct democracy and representative democracy different?

Answer 1

Athenian direct democracy was a system of government in Ancient Athens that allowed all eligible citizens to participate in decision-making through direct voting on legislation and policy. It was a form of direct democracy in which all citizens were expected to attend public hearings and debates, and to vote on issues in person.


Representative democracy, on the other hand, is a system of government in which citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf. In this system, citizens vote for individuals to represent them in government, rather than directly voting on legislation and policy. These representatives serve as a bridge between the people and the government, and are responsible for making decisions on behalf of their constituents.

Answer 2

Athenian Direct Democracy

Citizens could directly vote on new laws and policies in the direct democracy of ancient Athens. Every person had the right to vote, speak during assemblies, make proposals, and have such proposals rejected.

Key Features

• All citizens have access to direct vote on legislative and executive measures.

• There were no representatives present. Voting on numerous issues was done by the people directly in the Assembly and Council.

• Judges in the courts were chosen at random among citizens.

• Between 30,000 and 60,000 of the 310,000 or more residents of Athens participated in democracy.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Representative Democracy

In a representative democracy, citizens choose representatives who then vote on laws and pass laws on their behalf.

Key Features

• Representatives are chosen by the people to speak for them in government and pass legislation.

• In modern representative democracies, millions of voters elect a small number of representatives.

• Large populations find it difficult to fully participate and cast ballots on every issue.

• Representatives were chosen by the people, who expect them to represent their interests.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Differences

The main distinctions between direct democracy and representative democracy in ancient Athens are:

• Direct Participation: In a direct democracy, people vote for themselves on topics. Citizens choose representatives in a representative democracy, who then cast votes on topics.

• Representation: No representatives are present in a direct democracy. Individuals speak for themselves. Citizens are represented by elected officials in representational democracies.

• Scale: With millions of citizens, direct democracy is challenging to implement on a broad scale. Through elected representatives, representative democracy scales to bigger populations.

• Voter Knowledge: In a direct democracy, voters must possess in-depth knowledge of the topics in order to make wise choices. Voters choose representatives in representative democracies who are supposed to be knowledgeable about the subjects.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary

Athenian democracy allowed for direct citizen involvement in decision-making, whereas representative democracy allows for large-scale control through elected representatives.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------