What did democracy really mean in Athens? - Melissa Schwartzberg

Što je demokracija zapravo značila u Ateni? - Melissa Schwartzberg

Prevoditelj: Martina Valković Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

Hey, congratulations!

Čestitamo!

You've just won the lottery,

Upravo ste dobili na lutriji,

only the prize isn't cash or a luxury cruise.

samo što nagrada nije gotovina ili luksuzno krstarenje.

It's a position in your country's national legislature.

Nagrada je pozicija u zakonodavnom tijelu vaše zemlje.

And you aren't the only lucky winner.

I vi niste jedini sretni dobitnik.

All of your fellow lawmakers were chosen in the same way.

Svi vaši kolege zakonodavci izabrani su na isti način.

This might strike you as a strange way to run a government,

Ovo biste mogli smatrati čudnim načinom za vođenje vlade,

let alone a democracy.

a kamoli demokracije.

Elections are the epitome of democracy, right?

Izbori su utjelovljenje demokracije, zar ne?

Well, the ancient Athenians who coined the word had another view.

Pa, stari Atenjani, koji su skovali tu riječ, imali su drugačije mišljenje.

In fact, elections only played a small role in Athenian democracy,

Zapravo, izbori su imali tek malu ulogu u atenskoj demokraciji,

with most offices filled by random lottery from a pool of citizen volunteers.

dok se većina pozicija popunjavala nasumičnim odabirom građana dobrovoljaca.

Unlike the representative democracies common today,

Za razliku od danas uobičajenih reprezentativnih demokracija,

where voters elect leaders to make laws and decisions on their behalf,

gdje glasači izabiru vođe kako bi u njihovo ime donosili zakone i odluke,

5th Century BC Athens was a direct democracy

Atena u 5. st. pr. Kr. bila je direktna demokracija

that encouraged wide participation

koja je poticala široku participaciju

through the principle of ho boulomenos, or anyone who wishes.

kroz princip ho boulomenos, ili "svatko tko želi".

This meant that any of its approximately 30,000 eligible citizens

To znači da je svaki od otprilike 30 000 građana s pravom glasa

could attend the ecclesia,

mogao prisustvovati ecclesiji,

a general assembly meeting several times a month.

općoj skupštini koja se održavala nekoliko puta mjesečno.

In principle, any of the 6,000 or so who showed up at each session

U načelu, svaki od otprilike 6000 građana, koliko bi ih došlo na svaku sjednicu,

had the right to address their fellow citizens,

imao je pravo obratiti se svojim sugrađanima,

propose a law,

predložiti zakon,

or bring a public lawsuit.

ili podignuti javnu tužbu.

Of course, a crowd of 6,000 people trying to speak at the same time

Naravno, gomila od 6000 ljudi koji svi pokušavaju istovremeno govoriti

would not have made for effective government.

ne bi mogla činiti efikasnu vladu.

So the Athenian system also relied on a 500 member governing council

Zato se atenski sustav također oslanjao i na upravno vijeće od 500 članova,

called the Boule,

zvano boule,

to set the agenda and evaluate proposals,

kako bi postavilo dnevni red i evaluiralo prijedloge,

in addition to hundreds of jurors and magistrates to handle legal matters.

uz stotine porotnika i magistrata koji su se bavili pravnim poslovima.

Rather than being elected or appointed,

Umjesto da su bili izabrani ili postavljeni,

the people in these positions were chosen by lot.

ljudi na tim pozicijama bili su odabrani ždrijebom.

This process of randomized selection is know as sortition.

Ovaj proces nasumične selekcije poznat je kao sorticija.

The only positions filled by elections

Jedine pozicije koje su se popunjavale izborima

were those recognized as requiring expertise,

bile su one za koje se smatralo da zahtijevaju stručnost,

such as generals.

poput generalskih pozicija.

But these were considered aristocratic, meaning rule by the best,

No, one su smatrane aristokratskima, što je značilo vladavinu najboljih,

as opposed to democracies, rule by the many.

nasuprot demokracijama, vladavinama mnogih.

How did this system come to be?

Kako se ovaj sustav razvio?

Well, democracy arose in Athens after long periods of social and political tension

Demokracija je nastala u Ateni nakon dugih perioda društvenih i političkih tenzija,

marked by conflict among nobles.

obilježenih sukobom među plemićima.

Powers once restricted to elites,

Moći koje su nekoć bile ograničene na elite,

such as speaking in the assembly and having their votes counted,

poput govora u skupštini i uvažavanja glasova,

were expanded to ordinary citizens.

proširene su na obične građane.

And the ability of ordinary citizens to perform these tasks

I mogućnost običnih građana da adekvatno izvrše ove zadaće

adequately became a central feature of the democratice ideology of Athens.

postala je središnja značajka demokratske ideologije Atene.

Rather than a privilege,

Umjesto tek privilegija,

civic participation was the duty of all citizens,

građanska participacija bila je dužnost svih građana,

with sortition and strict term limits preventing governing classes

dok su odabir ždrijebom i stroge granice mandata prevenirale formiranje

or political parties from forming.

vladajućih klasa ili političkih partija.

By 21st century standards,

Prema standardima 21. stoljeća,

Athenian rule by the many excluded an awful lot of people.

atenska vladavina mnogih isključivala je ogroman broj ljudi.

Women, slaves and foreigners were denied full citizenship,

Ženama, robovima i strancima bilo je zanijekano puno državljanstvo,

and when we filter out those too young to serve,

a kada isključimo one premlade da bi služili,

the pool of eligible Athenians drops to only 10-20% of the overall population.

broj Atenjana s pravom glasa pada na tek 10-20% ukupne populacije.

Some ancient philosophers, including Plato,

Neki antički filozofi, uključujući Platona,

disparaged this form of democracy as being anarchic and run by fools.

odbacivali su ovakav oblik demokracije kao anarhičan i predvođen budalama.

But today the word has such positive associations,

No, danas ta riječ ima toliko pozitivne asocijacije

that vastly different regimes claim to embody it.

da veoma različiti režimi tvrde da je utjelovljuju.

At the same time, some share Plato's skepticism about the wisdom of crowds.

Istovremeno, neki dijele Platonov skepticizam u pogledu mudrosti masa.

Many modern democracies reconcile this conflict

Mnoge moderne demokracije nastoje pomiriti ovaj konflikt

by having citizens elect those they consider qualified

tako što građani biraju one koje smatraju kvalificiranima

to legislate on their behalf.

da bi donosili zakone u njihovo ime.

But this poses its own problems,

No, to stvara nove probleme,

including the influence of wealth,

uključujući utjecaj bogatstva

and the emergence of professional politicians

i pojavu profesionalnih političara

with different interests than their constituents.

s interesima različitim od njihovih birača.

Could reviving election by lottery lead to more effective government

Bi li oživljavanje izbora ždrijebom moglo voditi do efikasnije vlade

through a more diverse and representative group of legislatures?

pomoću raznovrsnije i reprezentativnije skupine zakonodavaca?

Or does modern political office, like Athenian military command,

Ili moderna politička služba, poput atenskog vojnog zapovjedništva,

require specialized knowledge and skills?

zahtijeva specijalizirano znanje i vještine?

You probably shouldn't hold your breath

Vjerojatno se ne biste trebali nadati

to win a spot in your country's government.

da ćete osvojiti mjesto u vladi vaše zemlje.

But depending on where you live,

No, ovisno o tome gdje živite,

you may still be selected to participate in a jury,

možete ipak biti izabrani da sudjelujete u poroti,

a citizens' assembly,

vijeću građana,

or a deliberative poll,

ili deliberativnom glasanju,

all examples of how the democratic principle behind sortition

što su sve primjeri kako demokratski princip u pozadini sorticije

still survives today.

živi i danas.