Ancient Greek Democracy and American Republicanism - (Edinburgh Studies in Comparative Political Theory and Intellectual History)

About the Book

Traces the remnants of Ancient Greek democratic thought in American Republicanism.

Book Synopsis

Ancient Greek Democracy and American Republicanism explores the archetype of Prometheus in political theory, representing faith in human agency and self-governance. It borrows perspectives from Hannah Arendt and Christopher Lasch, tracing Promethean elements in the philosophy behind the ancient Athenian polis as well as in early American republican thought, which laid the foundations of the American Revolution and also of the Populist Movement during the nineteenth century.

The second principle of Prometheanism revolves around a 'tragic vision' of life and human nature; Prometheanism questions optimistic ideologies advocating human perfection or endless improvement. Ancient Greek democracy and early American republicanism maintain a balanced - else called melioristic - approach to human agency and potential. They value the importance of action, without promising endless betterment and assured happiness. Finally, cultural heritage and identity are seen as crucial for participatory (Promethean) politics. With this in mind, the book criticises mainstream liberal trends and questions the ardent optimism and cultural nihilism of the republicanism of the French Revolution.

Review Quotes

Theodosiadis demonstrates a remarkable capacity to engage with an extensive corpus of literature while critically evaluating different arguments and viewpoints in a balanced and nuanced way. The book adds greatly to our understanding of the range of democratic possibilities, based on ancient and modern paths taken (or not taken at all). [Theodosiadis] offers a compelling critique of contemporary liberalism's faith in unre-strained progress.--Elias Vavouras, University of Western Macedonia, Greece "Dia-noesis: A Journal of Philosophy"

The book recovers the ancient and modern democratic experience through the lens of contemporary interpreters such as Arendt and Lasch to reconstruct a populist - 'Promethean', in Theodosiadis' words - version of democracy as a way out of our troubled politics. This is an essential book for rethinking democracy in our political context.--Montserrat Herrero, University of Navarra, Spain