Throughout history, people have argued about what kindof government is best for their societies. - P13
This chapter will explain some of the different kindsof governments in the past - from the very beginning ofsomething called democracy in Ancient Greece, to rebelsin America who helped to elect the first President of the United States. - P13
Ancient democracy
(중략)
The political system was made up of two main bodies: the Boule (or Council) andthe Ecclesia (or Assembly). - P14
Everyone who attended the Ecclesiahad the chance to speak. It didn‘tmatter who you were (although menover 50 were allowed to go first,
so it did matter a bit). - P15
The word ‘idiot‘ comes from the Greek word idiotes, which means
‘private citizen‘. It was used as aninsult for someone who wasn‘t interested in politics. - P15
The Roman Republic
Meanwhile, in Italy, Rome was becoming a great city, ruled by kings.
In 509BC, wealthy families, known as patricians, rebelled against thelatest king. They set up a new form of government, called a republic,
which means a government without a king or queen. - P16
Empires and emperors
The Romans became more and more powerful, conquering land beyond Rome and building up an empire under Roman control.
But in Rome itself, the system began to collapse, and in 27BC,
the republic was replaced by rule under an emperor. - P18
China: from empire to meritocracy
Meanwhile, large parts of Asia were ruled by an emperor, too. Emperors often gained power through military might, but the actual work ofgovernment was done by highly trained people called civil servants.
From the 7th century, civil servants were chosen by exam. Only thevery best passed the exams - this system is known as a meritocracy. - P20
Feudalism
In 1066, a ruler named Harold was crowned king of England. - P21
William had to find a way to rule England, a foreign country where no one hadany reason to be loyal to him. His answer was feudalism. This was a version ofmonarchy - rule by king or queen - that continued in England for hundreds ofyears. This is how it worked: - P21
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy or absolutism describes a government where all of the power is in the hands of a king or queen, a style of politics common in 17th and 18th century Europe. - P22
Loyal advisors
In the past, the king‘s advisors came fromnoble families - rich and powerful people.
Instead, Louis hired less wealthy people.
That meant they relied on the king fortheir position in society, so were less likelyto disagree with him. - P22
Divine justification
When Louis was born, his parents hadbeen trying to have a baby for 23 years.
So people thought he was a gift from God,
and Louis believed it too. He claimed that God had given him the right to rule. - P22
Self-government
Around 300 years ago, the government in Britain controlled colonieson the east coast of North America. - P24
Britain controlled 13 regions, known today as states. After the Boston Tea Party,
Patriots in each state started making their own alternative governments, andrefused to obey British rules. The 13 states declared themselves independent fromBritain in 1776, and the War of Independence began. - P24
A new constitution
During the war, each state had its own constitution, which was a set of rulesto organize how their state government would be run. - P25
-The Bill of Rights made sure the rightsof individual people and the states- were respected, unless those peoplewere slaves, or Native Americans... - P25
Representative democracy
The United States‘ new constitution created a system of government called representative democracy. But it wasn‘t very similar to how democracy had looked when it first started, in ancient Athens. - P26
The perfect representative?
You might not know who they are, but you probablyhave representatives. You could think of them a littlelike a servant you‘ve sent to buy you things you needfrom a shopping list...
...but many people - including the Founding Fathers -said representatives ought to do more. They should bewise enough to make decisions for you better than youcan yourself. That‘s the theory, anyway... - P27
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