Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ExCit Conference: Exclusive Citizenship in Contemporary Social and Political Philosophy, Bursa, Türkiye, 11 - 12 Aralık 2014, ss.11-19
Today, if we are going to tend towards the ancient Greek democracy
practice to draw inspiration, we should reveal the correct contents of these
concepts and then put in relation with today. Thus, when ancient concepts are
in question, we now seem to have a double duty: (1) to present the changing
contents of these concepts and question their applicability to our world today
directly, (2) to present whether the difference between today’s world, which
distributed citizenship to “everyone” in an unconditional setting of equality
by getting rid of slavery and ancient world, is a structural difference or to
present the character of this difference.
We should reveal the
meanings of concepts “freedom, equality and citizenship” which are the basic
indications of politics nowadays and without which it is impossible to think
about today’s politics. Hereby, the political character of Athens which is
indicated as “home”, “homeland” for pointing at equal participation of
“everyone” to politics and for politics that is not exclusive, can be useful
with regard to thinking about today.
Here I will focus on the
practical political life of Athens that is the most authentic example of
ancient Greece and while doing that, I will follow especially the opinions of
Hannah Arendt, Paul Cartledge, Luciano Canfora, Ellen Meiksins Wood and Michael
Mann. Although (I’m aware of the fact that) the theories of those thinkers take
one step further and seperate into various branches, they are majorly on the
same page when the identification of the general character of political life is
in question.