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> Mob rule != democracy. Actually that's precisely what it means: "demos" = mob + "kratos" = rule; hence "demokratia" = the rule of the mob. Funny, huh?
by MonkeyClub 6y ago
> Mob rule != democracy.
Actually that's precisely what it means: "demos" = mob + "kratos" = rule; hence "demokratia" = the rule of the mob.
Funny, huh?
- Mediterraneo10 6y agoDemos in Greek didn’t mean 'mob' but rather 'body politic'. The word for 'mob' was ochlos.
- MonkeyClub 6y agoOops, was I a bit sly? Perhaps that equation should be amended to read "(occasional) mob rule". The people become "ochlos" crowd when in sub-groups, or perhaps when they start causing irritation "ochlesis". Before that, the demos is just a bunch of people. Originally demos refers just the people of a particular land, from Homeric "demos" = land, and expanded over time to include particular bunches of people (e.g., of a village or town, or a band of people). The political sense of the people as free and sovereign citizens (the body politic; Latin "plebs") is a later meaning. Before that, demos used to refer to the mass of subjects contrasted to the "basileus" king. Of course, both demos and ochlos can refer to a crowd (as can "plethos"). One could say that demos has a common attribute (e.g. place of origin) giving it stronger cohesion, while an ochlos may be ad hoc. Still, ochlos is mass/multitude of people, with the ability to exercise influence in a democratic assembly. It is that characteristic of democracy as mob rule - alright, occasionally, that generated early critique (but also gave rise to rhetoric and dialogue as more benign means of persuasion). (Source: LSJ and a bit of Lampe) From your name I gather you are from, or interested in the study of, the Mediterranean?