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Article: First Democracy: The Challenge of an Ancient Idea.(book)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- July 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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First Democracy The Challenge of an Ancient Idea Paul Woodruff
Oxford University Press 284 + xvi pp. 14.99 [pounds sterling] ISBN 0195177185
Reinhold Niebuhr claimed that 'Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.' Neibuhr's pronouncement is better than most. It acknowledges that the kinds of governments we call democracies, throughout history, come into being when forms of government that operate to the advantage of smaller power groups (kings, dictators, juntas, aristocracies, oligarchies) become intolerably unjust. It is arguably naive in positing that democratic governments ...