Ancient Athens was a form of direct democracy probably because of its size. The BBC in a program about direct Democracies make the claim that the USA may be an example of this form of rule and that a tyrant was certain to emerge from a state of affairs in which children no longer respect their parents and students are afraid of their teachers. The idea of a representative form of constitutional government came from Aristotle and it is designed specifically to prevent tyrants from usurping power and ruling.

http://michaelrdjames.org

Delphic Podcast

Tyranny for Plato and Aristotle was a pathological form of monarchy in which one tyrant with unnecessary and unlawful desires leads a whole community to ruin and destruction. Totalitarianism Arendt argues is a different phenomenon because it is tolerated by the masses who have lost trust in the political system. Hitler and Stalin used the laws of the state to undermine our historically established sense of justice. Fanatical interpretations of Laws of Nature and History are invoked for justifications for mass murder. The inner conversation for Arendt is disturbed and the public political space is corrupted

http://michaelrdjames.org

Delphic Podcast

Kant argues that there is a fundamental human right to roam the world and this fact requires from everyone the response of hospitality: a response based on the categorical imperative which demands that every human treats every other human as an end-in-themselves. The original Great Trek From Africa might have been an act of necessity or an act of exploration but whatever was the case it required bravery and resourcefulness. The Chinese in response to the challenge as to why in the past they have not resisted migrations simply argue that after three generations these migrants will be Chinese so, they ask, wisely, what exactly is the point given experience has shown that these migrants contribute to the welfare of the common good.

http://michaelrdjames.org

Delphic Podcast