This is what direct democracy looks like: how Athens in the 5th century BC resolved the question of power

摘要

Like Athens, modern democracies combine centralised and decentralised powers and legislate by majority votes. Unlike Athens, our legislators are elected representatives and direct participatory opportunities are not decision-making structures. On the other hand, alternative social movements, e.g. OWS, emphasise some features of Athenian direct democracy, making decisions collectively at open public assemblies — although their consensus-based decision-making puts a much greater emphasis on debate and deliberation than Athenian democracy did.