I would definitely take the Athenian Democracy over the brutal dictatorship. I think Aristotle did a great job of pointing out the problems with a pure democra

I would definitely take the Athenian Democracy over the brutal dictatorship. I think Aristotle did a great job of pointing out the problems with a pure democracy, and John Adams did a great job of helping invent the best solution to those problems - a constitutional republic. But as far as talking about scientific progress in political terms, I guess I don't follow your reasoning there. Apparently, one of the virtues of the Athenian Democracy was free speech, one of the key ingredients enabling great thinkers to thrive.