Peasant-Citizen and Slave: The Foundations of Athenian Democracy

Description

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 recent 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.

Ellen Meiksins Wood (1942-2016), for many years Professor of Political Science at York University, Toronto, was the author of many books, including Democracy Against Capitalism, The Pristine Culture of Capitalism, The Origin of Capitalism, Peasant-Citizen and Slave, Citizens to Lords, Empire of Capital and Liberty and Property.

Learned, elegantly argued and, I think, important ... Ellen Wood is inviting us, indeed I would say obliging us, to reconsider our picture of Athens. (Praise for ???) * The Independent * [Wood] has indisputably set the agenda anew. (Praise for ???) * Times Literary Supplement * A compelling read ... always surprising and refreshing. (Praise for ???) -- Robin Osborne, Magdalen College, Oxford The writing is so supple and accessible, and the argument so persuasive, it's like watching a cloudy mixture of ideas being turned into a clear solution. (Praise for ???) -- Adrienne Rich A splendid book. (Praise for ???) -- Eric Hobsbawm A powerful antidote to one of the afflictions of the interregnum, the belief that appearance is everything. (Praise for ???) * London Review of Books * Meiksins Wood is a rare breed--an academic with the soul of a storyteller. Highly recommended. (Praise for ???) * Morning Star * Immensely impressive, bold and erudite ... This book ought to be compulsory reading for us all. (Praise for ???) * Times Higher Education Supplement *