Minority Differences In Athenian Democracy

But Athenian democracy demanded more equality than simply the possession of a ‘minimum kit’ in the form of a common sense of justice and shame. Fully participatory democracy breaks down once factionalism breaks out. Every democratic decision will leave dissatisfied the minority who voted against the decision. If that minority is always made up of the same people, then problems arise. A tyrannous majority, which pursues factional interests at the expense of a minority, renders hollow any claim to democracy. Athenians had to believe that they had a single set of interests, and that differences of opinion were differences about how best to serve those interests, not differences about what the interests