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US: Ancient Athens rather than ancient Rome?

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 3:10 pm
by Weetabix
Duty to Others in an Age of Individuals

An interesting comparison. Normally, you see the current US compared to Rome before the fall. This opinion piece compares us to ancient Athens quite credibly, I think.

The whole thing is worth a read. The author focuses on marriage, but this can easily be extrapolated to duty to others in other areas.

Re: US: Ancient Athens rather than ancient Rome?

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 1:21 pm
by g-man
There are a lot of parallels there too. I’d espouse a hybrid analogy. The Athens comparison does a good job of looking at the why, i.e. failure of individuals in understanding that the optimal overall outcome sometimes depends on slightly sub-optimal individual outcomes (ignore the blonde), and therefore requires self sacrifice for the common good. Meanwhile, the Roman comparison hits pretty close to home with the how, i.e. bread and circuses.
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme...

-Anonymous