What’s Wrong with Democracy? From Athenian Practice to American Worship (review)

“Freedom,” is the answer that Samons offers to his title’s question—along with its sidekicks, choice and diversity. Man, Samons opines, naturally wants an integral order, blending religion, society, and politics. Democracy, ancient and modern, undermines the traditional moral values of God, family, and country. Democratic Athens first became belligerently hypermilitaristic, then supinely nonmilitaristic. Weakened by democracy, Athens lost its independence to Macedon. So did the other (mostly nondemocratic) Greek poleis, but never mind. Samons dismisses theory and method; he “is less swayed by statistics than by [his] own experiences.” This book seeks a place in a long line of anti-Athenian polemics. At the head of the line is a tart, anonymous tract (“The Old Oligarch”) that mixes moral outrage with a perceptive analysis of how Athens accomplished its ends. Samons has the outrage without the perception; attempting to write useful and beautiful history, he interleaves textbook pedantry with the blogger’s redundant pique. Parroting Hanson and Heath’s Who Killed Homer? (a creepy but funny send-up of classical studies), Samons portentously asks, “Who killed Socrates?” He fails to ask, “Why did Socrates choose to live in Athens?” The answer points to the value of freedom, choice, and diversity—even for those who claim to despise democracy.