Ostracism

[bobsponge]

You learn something new every day. And correct any wrongness here, as I don't have in-depth knowledge of this, merely an overview.

Apparently, when Greek was a group of independent (yet united) city-states (sort of like the way the US was, and ought to be again), in Athens the leaders of the city-states would all gather once a year to vote AGAINST the leader they thought represented the greatest threat to the wellbeing of their country. That person would thereupon be exiled.

I think we ought to do similar here in the USA. First and foremost, it would shape congress up REALLY quick to know that they could be ripped out for not doing their job. The only downside I can see is that it might bring congress to conspire. However, if they were being pressed by their constituents, perhaps it would provide another check/balance. Not that they really listen to us today.

Can anyone clarify further on the governmental ostracism of the ancient Greeks, or present any benefits/hazards that might come up if this method existed today?

[Galileo Blogs]

Can anyone clarify further on the governmental ostracism of the ancient Greeks, or present any benefits/hazards that might come up if this method existed today?

Well, I recall that Athens tended to ostracize their most successful generals. Of course, it wasn't ostracism, but a similar concept (the collective punishing the individual) that was applied to Socrates, who was made to drink hemlock.

The best protection against bad actions by Congress will be a rational culture that values individual liberty, and a rational Constitution that would be the result of that culture. Such a Constitution would be similar to the one we have now, but would contain no "loopholes." If the state were circumscribed to its policing function (including the courts and armed forces), there would be essentially no scope of action for Congress to pass bad laws, since any bad laws (those that violated individual rights) would be unconstitutional.