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Laney College *

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MISC

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Political Science

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Oct 30, 2023

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Uploaded by DrIbex3663

● ● ● 1. Charisma that Athenian politics before Solon was irrational ○ Irrationality here means the system doesn't accomplish its own goals very well. ○ Okay, so the opposite kind of an idea that the ends and the means are connected to one another. So you, you define certain goals and then you have the means to accomplish those goals and pursue them. ○ have a system that's irrational and the sort of precise technical sense that everybody wants peace, security, and employment, but the system creates chaos and insecurity and upheaval instead. ○ one of the first features of that irrationality has to do with the very form of political leadership that involved charisma ○ Charisma is simply the force of a person's personality. the appearance that they have.somebody that you should follow, somebody that you should pay attention to To them it meant a kind of grace or favor and particularly being favored by the gods ○ a characteristic people show. ○ Athenian political system was largely based on charisma ○ If the question comes up, who should rule the polis? The answer is charisma is the standard for selecting the leaders. ■ it's just that's kind of how it worked. ■ Solon seems blessed by the gods. He seems to have a sort of Grace. He's, he's impressive. He's, he's somebody I feel like I would like to follow. ○ that's kind of the basis for choosing the leaders is simply do you find them charismatic? ○ The advantages are You wind up with rulers that people think are appealing and worth following. ○ problem is, you wind up with a very unstable system. ○ found to have been involved in a scandal of some sort or isn't as great and awesome as people thought when they first selected him. leadership just become a, kind of fades away. ○ people just find you less appealing, less worth following ○ So why is that a problem? undermine your leadership, you can lose your legitimacy. ○ For instance, in the United States right now, we actually do kind of choose our leaders based on charisma as well. ○ Sometimes people are chosen because they're bureaucratically competent.or you think they look nice and you find them appealing, you like their personality. ○ But here's the difference with ancient Greece. They have a set in the United States, there's a set term in office. rule creates a sort of stability that's lacking when charisma is the only criterion. ○ irrational It's an irrational feature of the Athenian political system because it's unstable, it's changeable. It's based on personality traits, not really your ability to

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