Greek Political Thought: An Overview
Ancient Greek political thought differed from other ancient civilizations by focusing on the nature of the state and man as a political being. Greek thinkers examined various forms of government and emphasized the importance of education in shaping citizens. They considered the state essential for achieving a good life and highlighted the interconnectedness of the state and society within city-states.
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The ancient Greek Political Thought varies from the Political Thought of other ancient countries like Egypt, Babylonia, Syria, Persia, India, China etc. Greeks formed treatise of purely political nature. On the other hand, in the other ancient civilizations, the political ideas were inter- mixed with mythology and religious literature.
Greek Political Thought related itself mainly with the nature of the state and the concept that man is a political animal. When they considered man as a social animal they did not consider him as an isolated and independent individual and tried to understand him in relation to the social whole viz., the state. The state become the centre of Greek political thought.
Greeks discussed the origin and the end of the state . They distinguished between various forms of states like Monarchy. Aristocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, Tyranny etc. They also highlighted the points that the forms of government, determine the order in which the changes take place in governments and the laws governing them.
The Greek thinkers were the first to put weight on social nature of man and highlight that an individual could not think as a lonely and independent agent. He could get perfection only in a healthy state, so they considered state as essential for the sake of life as well as good life.
Greek political thought was positioned around the city states, in which men shared with community for common life and purpose, it was an ample social organization in which citizens uninterruptedly took part. Greek political thinkers did not identify the state and society separately.
Greek thinkers gave top significance to education and stressed its importance in making the people on par with the spirit of constitution. They highlighted on practical system of education which could help in promoting modesty, self- control, patriotism, sociability and other similar qualities. The responsibility to promote education among the citizens was of the state. It was considered as a moral and political institution but also an educational institution. The Greeks laid main pressure on state to promote a skillful system of education.
Greeks gave an important position to rationalism in their thought. They consider that reason is an aspect of the importance and that man was free, only when he had the freedom of reasoning. Reasoning made man identify himself with corporate life, which made him stop his personal and selfish interests and adapt into the jurisdiction of wider interpretations and higher purposes. Greek thinkers gave advantaged positions to persons who had the rational faculty and demoted those persons who did not have reason to lower status. They gave much importance to reason and were against a thing which was not justified on ground of reason.
The Greek concept of law was connected with their belief in reason. They held that life-breath of the state was law, because it characterized the mainstay of the rational being. The people who make laws were stimulated by the divine power and was also pronouncement of God. They thought that law and justice as two sides of the same coin, and considered justice as the social aim established by the law.
The Greek political thinkers gave top priority to justice, which enabled a citizen to discharge his duties properly, and contributed towards development of human faculties. Justice was implied to mean willing obedience to the laws of state. According to Plato Justice was the virtue of social and injustice it s vice .
The Greek thinkers opined that merely payment of taxes and vote did not mean citizenship. It meant the direct contribution in the management of state as a soldier, as judge, as a legislator in person not through Deputy. The Greeks ruled out the concept of representative government, the Greek did not extend rights of citizenship to slaves, because they felt the slaves could not discharge their duties towards the state. Even they denied working classes the right to rule because they did not have speculative mind. They opined that only the classes which enjoyed leisure and owned lands can actively participate in the affairs of state, because they are free from economic burden, hence, the concept of citizenship was limited.
The Greeks considered equality as impracticable unnatural and undesirable they argued that the majority of individuals who were inferior, lazy, unfit for education could be sacrificed at the altar of the minority of excellent and wise. They measured that disparity is natural and allowed the dominance of Greeks over barbarians, of the free man over the slave; of the gentle man over the artisan etc., They however accepted equality within a class. They opined that equality was not an ideal thing. It was something unnatural and hence it is unrealistic and unwanted.
The Greek political thinkers gave a significant position to the individual, their thought and claimed it was the right of individual to articulate his own thoughts and direct these thoughts publicly and act according to the dictator of conscience. Plato highlighted in his laws that society, a group of individuals and the individual was self-determined. Similarly, Epicurus said there is no such thing as human society. Even man is concerned for himself .. Justice never is anything in itself, but in delays of men with one another in any place whatever and at any time. It is a time of contract not to harm or to be harmed .
Greeks committed great importance to discussion. They approved the method of discussion for presenting their ideas and philosophy. They believed truth can be exposed only through proper reasoning and discussion. The novel method adopted by them was between two parties one presenting the issue and other replying to those issues with philosophical ideas. They thought that truth would hide in the absence of discussion. It comes in light with discussion. In fact some of the concepts and ideas discussed by the ancient Greeks were focal point of discussion of political thought even in our times.
