Democracy and Knowledge

Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens

Josiah Ober

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9780691146249, 9780691133478
• eBook ISBN: 9781400828807
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Greek Ancient History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

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.

Table of contents

• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• Preface
• List of Abbreviations
• Athenian Money, Taxes, Revenues
• CHAPTER ONE Introduction: Dispersed Knowledge and Public Action
• CHAPTER TWO Assessing Athenian Performance
• CHAPTER THREE Competition, Scale, and Varieties of Knowledge
• CHAPTER FOUR Aggregation: Networks, Teams, and Experts
• CHAPTER FIVE Alignment: Common Knowledge, Commitment, and Coordination
• CHAPTER SIX Codification: Access, Impartiality, and Transaction Costs
• CHAPTER SEVEN Conclusions: Government by the People
• APPENDIX A. Aggregate Material Flourishing
• APPENDIX B. Distribution of Coins in Hoards
• APPENDIX C. Prominence in Classical Greek Literature
• APPENDIX D. Impact of Constitution and Historical Experience
• APPENDIX E. Athenian State Capacity and Democracy, 600–250 B.C.
• Bibliography
• Index