Ebook: Democracy and knowledge : innovation and learning in classical Athens

'When does democracy work well, and why? Is democracy the best form of government? These questions are of supreme importance today as the United States seeks to promote its democratic values abroad. Democracy and Knowledge is the first book to look to ancient Athens to explain how and why directly democratic government by the people produces wealth, power, and security.' 'Combining a history of Athens with contemporary theories of collective action and rational choice developed by economists and political scientists, Josiah Ober examines Athenian democracy's unique contribution to the ancient Greek city-state's remarkable success, and demonstrates the valuable lessons Athenian political practices hold for us today. He argues that the key to Athens's success lay in how the city-state managed and organized the aggregation and distribution of knowledge among its citizens. Ober explores the institutional contexts of democratic knowledge management, including the use of social networks for collecting information, publicity for building common knowledge, and open access for lowering transaction costs. He explains why a government's attempt to dam the flow of information makes democracy stumble. Democratic participation and deliberation consume state resources and social energy. Yet as Ober shows, the benefits of a well-designed democracy far outweigh its costs.' 'Understanding how democracy can lead to prosperity and security is among the most pressing political challenges of modern times. Democracy and Knowledge reveals how ancient Greek politics can help us transcend the democratic dilemmas that confront the world today.'--BOOK JACKET. & nbsp;Read more... List of Illustrations xi List of Tables xii Preface xiii List of Abbreviations xvii Athenian Money, Taxes, Revenues xviii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction: Dispersed Knowledge and Public Action 1 Theory and Practice 3 Rational Choice and Joint Action 6 Premises and Problem 12 Caveats and Method 22 The Argument and Its Contexts 28 Experts and Interests 34 Hypothesis 37 CHAPTER TWO: Assessing Athenian Performance 39 Historical Evaluation 40 Aggregate Flourishing 43 Distribution of Coinage 48 Athens versus Syracuse and Sparta 52 Citations in Greek Literature and Other Measures 53 Athens??12: A Multiperiod Case Study 55 Democracy as an Explanatory Variable 70 Republics, Democracies, and Athenian Exceptionalism 75 CHAPTER THREE: Competition, Scale, and Varieties of Knowledge 80 Competition and Its Consequences 80 Participation and Scale 84 Social, Technical, and Latent Knowledge 90 Preferences, Parties, and Costly Information 97 Hierarchy, Democracy, and Productivity 102 Knowledge Processes as Public-Action Strategies 106 CHAPTER FOUR: Aggregation: Networks, Teams, and Experts 118 Institutional Design: Incentives, Low Cost, Sorting 118 Establishing a Naval Station, 325/4 B.C. 124 Demes and Tribes as Social Networks 134 The Council of 500: Structural Holes and Bridging Ties 142 Organizational and Individual Learning 151 Boards of Magistrates as Real Teams 156 Ostracism, Assembly, and People's Courts 160 CHAPTER FIVE: Alignment: Common Knowledge, Commitment, and Coordination 168 Alignment and Hierarchy 169 Following Leaders, Rules, and Commitments 172 Cascading and Social Equilibrium 179 A Trial for Treason, 330 B.C. 183 Common Knowledge and Publicity 190 Rational Rituals and Public Monuments 194 Architecture and Intervisibility 199 Scaling Common Knowledge 205 CHAPTER SIX: Codification: Access, Impartiality, and Transaction Costs 211 Intention and Interpretation 211 Open Entry, Fair Procedure, and Transaction Costs 214 A Law on Silver Coinage, 375/4 B.C. 220 Silver Owls, Athenian and Imitation 226 Approval, Certification, Confiscation 231 Legal Standing and Social Status 241 Rules and Rents: Historical Survey 245 Expanding Access 249 Democracy and Social Security 254 Horizons of Fairness 258 CHAPTER SEVEN: Conclusions: Government by the People 264 Knowledge in Action 264 The Democracy/Knowledge Hypothesis Revisited 268 Formality and Experimentation 270 Institutions and Ideology 272 Exceptionalism and Exemplarity 276 APPENDIX A. Aggregate Material Flourishing 281 APPENDIX B. Distribution of Coins in Hoards 285 APPENDIX C. Prominence in Classical Greek Literature 287 APPENDIX D. Impact of Constitution and Historical Experience 289 APPENDIX E. Athenian State Capacity and Democracy, 600-250 B.C. 292 Bibliography 295 Index 333