deck of cards

Wow... her answer frightens me a little. OK, the Athenians had more control than us today on the decisions taken by their leaders, but it's certainly more difficult to manage millions of people than the population of ancient Athens. But to say there is really no difference between democracy and a fascistic government! It's worrying to hear people who forget that, with a government like that, they would not be free to even answer this kind of question in the street…

Well actually, the Athenians didn't have more control than us, Greece was hardly a democracy in the way we would define it today, they had slavery for example, and women were second class citizens. As for managing people, there have been numerous examples throughout history of people managing themselves without government, and accepting democracy as the better choice when compared to fascism, that's what's frightening. So in terms of system of operation, i would say there was no difference between democracy and a fascistic government. Obviously there are differences in terms of control, but at the end of the day they are both forms of authority that make the ultimate decisions and carry on with their own agendas regardless of everyone else. they exist as entities apart from the rest of the population. otherwise, of course there is a difference between fascism and democracy if you want to consider it in terms of level and not kind.