Here is part two of my ongoing series on liberalism.
The bulk of this episode is about the history of Athens, with special mention of Pisistratus, the Greek definition of “tyrant,” and the word “demagogue.” I also discuss the contradiction of democracy and empire, with the democrats also being the imperialists. One thing I didn’t mention in the stream that bears thinking about is that the Athenian democratic faction justified its imperialism upon a desire to spread democracy and overthrow oligarchies. The Peloponnesian War was, in many ways, a struggle between democracy and oligarchy that democracy lost because it was undermined by an imperial project.
Please let me know what you think!
