5/31/17
CB.
1. What is the difference between the liberty of the ancients and the liberty of the moderns? What would moderns find lacking in ancient liberty?
2. What, in Plutarch's opinion, makes a "great man"? Is Alexander great?
(good to read: Benjamin Constant, the liberties of the ancients and the moderns.)
(Question 1) I'll split it into parts.
The ancients and the moderns have two very different ideas of liberty, and so the Greeks weren't exactly "perfect" in their system pertaining to rights even though they've made many contributions to Western Civilization. We have to remember it is still an ancient civilization with some ancient ideas.
Moderns would find the ancients liberty lacking in what we define "liberty" as today. The modern westerners think of the word "liberty" as the rule of law. Not men's ideals, (like Sophist) or "the king's whims are the eternal law". The law can be interpreted not changed, unless necessary, and the law cannot be twisted. The base of the law is laid out clearly. The right to free speech, and to express one's opinions (whether people like it or not) this freedom is their individual right! As long as their free speech doesn't break a law threats, violence. "Hate" isn't directly a threat so that's debatable. The problem with calling "hate" a threat or free speech that breaks the law is because it's too vague to enforce properly. What would people classify as "hate"? It could even be taken in oversensitive cases where people just disagree. Put into practice shutting out certain free speech is a very bad idea (as the Greeks did with their "go all or go none" group over the individual way of thinking). And that would shut out people's opinions, which blocks their free speech rights.
To use one's property as one sees fit is another important right. You can build a log cabin, a stucco house, or a Victorian home it doesn't matter (not regarding building codes and all that) At the end of the day, it's your property.
Your right to associate with others and make groups. As long as (like I said before) they don't violate any laws like violence, or stealing, blocking roadways and so on.
Your right to have influence over government. Look at America's democracy, for instance, an American citizen has the right to vote and have a say in where their tax dollars go. Where their tax dollars don't go (an ethical situation for instance). People get a say in who they elect as president. Power to the people and power to the individual! That's a mantra.
The Greeks system involved collective rights to assemble and talk out various issues, like the moderns. Decisions like war and peace, forming foreign alliances, and, to accuse and render judgments on magistrates (among other things.) It would be the right of Athens as a whole on what to do. In contrast to the modern world.
The emphasis with the ancient Greeks was community and groupthink, they saw no inconsistencies with having no individual rights. This means you could be subject to unlawful groupthink such as ostracism/ You could have been a law abiding citizen, but still, be ostracized for 10 years by the community just because they don't like you. Constant (the person who wrote about the differences between the ancients and moderns) says no one has the right to tear an owner from his possessions, a citizen from his country, or a father from his children. And he makes a short list. Slavery is an obvious difference, as it's (rightfully) considered very wrong in modern times and its obviously a abolished institution. Without their slavery, they wouldn't have had so much time to think, idle, participate in gov., philosophy, or even just be as educated as they were. Dreaming up big ideas all day the way they did. The bigger a country is the smaller the political importance of a given individual and vice versa. Commerce wasn't as developed then as now. A free market would develop hostility and animosity towards the government, they believed, basically because if you have a good business and you provide for yourself you won't have to rely on the government for welfare and so on. It's the free market. And the (Athenian) government wants you to need them. This idea recalls communism! And also, the fact that you would get annoyed when the government gets involved with regulations. It makes you more sensitive. In their type of government (of Athens) the individual is subservient to the society around him. Just a cog in the big machine. We have to hold onto our individual rights, as Constant, shows it is important. The Greeks lacked precious ideas even they were good in a great many things they still were still ancient with ancient ideas. And that should be considered. I can't fault them for living like ancient people did even if some of their ideas (slavery and so on) weren't okay. In modern times we treat a woman decently, there is no slavery and that's not to credit to the Greeks. That is to credit to the moderns. Moderns have made many important innovations like fixing those social wrongdoings and we need to see these flaws to properly appreciate the Greeks for what they were and what they did. The differences are numerous between our ideals of liberty. And of course, this proves how impoverished we would feel as Americans if we put this kind of government system back in place. It makes you appreciate the blessing of Americans, our equal system, and looking out for the individual and not just the community (or any singular community) or a powerful government (in this case totalitarianism). This further shows it's about the law and what's right. Not just what everyone thinks is right or what everyone (groupthink) agrees with. Be your own individual form your own opinions with a critical mind taking each idea on individually like Constant did, I think is also a lesson you can pull from this. To learn on your own, from both sides, to see a full picture. Constant while researching didn't favor a certain side and kept his report impartial and rounded it out to form his opinion and point at the end. When he had all the information laid out (impartial information) he reached his conclusion. Many important lessons from this particular one. So that is my end to the freedom of the Greeks in contrast to that of the Modern Americans.
~ I wrote this a little different without the back and forth comparison type of narration. It was a lot more clear having two sides laid out so I'll write like this every now and then to switch it up. I also used pictures which I might start doing to illustrate my points colorfully and it can form a good picture of the points as well to relate them in. ~ credit: Google images
A individuals property/home
A group of people celebrating Greece, in ancient Greece they would've had group rights collectively and not individual rights.
But unlike ancient Greece, moderns (today) have individual rights!
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