Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
At the heart of the Athenian achievement, Pericles claimed, lay its democratic constitution. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; as for social standing, what counts is not membership of a particular class but a person’s ability. Class is not allowed to interfere with merit, nor is poverty an
... See moreAnthony Everitt • The Rise of Athens
Massive enterprises must have major incentives. Somebody has to show everybody—or almost everybody—that sacrifices made now will bear fruit later. And the ones Pericles had in mind were not to the gods, as in earlier times,17 but for a city that had become a state that was becoming an empire. Which had to remain, nonetheless, a community. If Athens
... See moreJohn Lewis Gaddis • On Grand Strategy
The first attribute that Pericles cited was Athens’ democracy. And he explained why. Not because ‘the people should rule’, but because it promotes ‘wise action’. It involves continual discussion, which is a necessary condition for discovering the right answer, which is in turn a necessary condition for progress:
David Deutsch • The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
