Peasant-Citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy

Peasant-Citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy - Paperback

$29.95
$29.95
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Peasant-Citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy
  • Peasant-Citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy
Peasant-Citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy - Paperback

Peasant-Citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy - Paperback

by Ellen Meiksins Wood
$29.95
$29.95

Book Overview

The controversial thesis at the center of this study is that, despite the importance of slavery in Athenian society, the most distinctive characteristic of Athenian democracy was the unprecedented prominence it gave to free labor. Wood argues that the emergence of the peasant as citizen, juridically and politically independent, accounts for much that is remarkable in Athenian political institutions and culture.

From a survey of historical writings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the focus of which distorted later debates, Wood goes on to take issue with influential arguments, such as those of G.E.M. de Ste Croix, about the importance of slavery in agricultural production. The social, political and cultural influence of the peasant-citizen is explored in a way which questions some of the most cherished conventions of Marxist and non-Marxist historiography.
ISBN9781784781026
Author Ellen Meiksins Wood
PublisherVerso
GenreNews & politics, History, and Education
FormatPaperback
PublishedNovember 2015
LanguageENG- English
Pages224
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

History Nonfiction Political Science Social Science

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