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Single Idea 7477
[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / d. Representative democracy
]
Full Idea
What we regard as democracy in the twenty-first century is actually elective oligarchy.
Gist of Idea
Modern democracy is actually elective oligarchy
Source
Peter Watson (Ideas [2005], Ch.06)
Book Ref
Watson,Peter: 'Ideas: from fire to Freud' [Phoenix 2006], p.171
A Reaction
Even dictatorships want to be called 'democracies'. The modern system is a bit of a concession to Plato, and he would probably have preferred it to his system, because at least the rulers tend to be more educated than the direct assembly.
The
21 ideas
from 'Ideas'
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7461
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The three key ideas are the soul, Europe, and the experiment
[Watson]
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7462
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DNA mutation suggests humans and chimpanzees diverged 6.6 million years ago
[Watson]
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7463
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The three basic ingredients of religion are: the soul, seers or priests, and ritual
[Watson]
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7464
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The big idea: imitation, the soul, experiments, God, heliocentric universe, evolution?
[Watson]
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7465
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Babylonian thinking used analogy, rather than deduction or induction
[Watson]
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7466
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Mesopotamian numbers applied to specific things, and then became abstract
[Watson]
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7470
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During the rise of civilizations, the main gods changed from female to male
[Watson]
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7474
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Hinduism has no founder, or prophet, or creed, or ecclesiastical structure
[Watson]
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7471
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The Gathas (hymns) of Zoroastrianism date from about 1000 BCE
[Watson]
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7473
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Zoroaster conceived the afterlife, judgement, heaven and hell, and the devil
[Watson]
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7475
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Confucius revered the spiritual world, but not the supernatural, or a personal god, or the afterlife
[Watson]
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7476
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Taoism aims at freedom from the world, the body, the mind, and nature
[Watson]
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7468
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In ancient Athens the souls of the dead are received by the 'upper air'
[Watson]
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7477
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Modern democracy is actually elective oligarchy
[Watson]
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7478
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Greek philosophers invented the concept of 'nature' as their special subject
[Watson]
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7483
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Paul's early writings mention few striking episodes from Jesus' life
[Watson]
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7480
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Monotheism was a uniquely Israelite creation within the Middle East
[Watson]
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7479
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Modern Judaism became stabilised in 200 CE
[Watson]
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7481
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The Israelites may have asserted the uniqueness of Yahweh to justify land claims
[Watson]
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7484
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Jesus never intended to start a new religion
[Watson]
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7490
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Because of Darwin, wisdom as a definite attainable state has faded
[Watson]
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