The community of equals: Rereading an early democratic concept (original) (raw)

In State and Equality, ed. by A. K. Molnar and M. Pap. Budapest, Dialogue Campus, 2018. In the second half of the fifth century B.C. Athens was already an established democracy when Herodotus wrote in his Histories that “the virtue of the multitude’s rule lies first in its excellent name, which signifies equality before the law.” He referred to the rule by the demos not as democracy, as we may expect, but as isonomia. This astonishing choice of words leads to the question why equality was more appreciated by him in comparison with democracy, although what he surely had in mind was the democratic practice: “All offices are assigned by lot; and the holders are accountable for what they do therein, and the general assembly arbitrates on all counsels.” What did the concept of isonomia – translated here as equality with some simplification – embrace? What was the meaning of a concept which was interchangeable with democracy for such pro-democrats as Herodotus? My concern in the next sections is to follow the proponents of the concept in order to reveal its layers of meaning. Nonetheless, my interest in isonomia is primarily theoretical and is based on its unambiguous connection to democracy, a democracy of ancient Athens which is as an empirical case study as a paragon type for participative democracy. Thus, in the following passages my attempts are aimed at the rereading and partial reinterpretation of isonomia for political philosophical purposes. Szilvia Horváth 2018. The Community of Equals: Rereading an Early Democratic Concept. In State and Equality, ed. Attila Károly Molnár - Milán Pap. Budapest: Dialóg-Campus, pp. 21-44.