--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are usually told that democracy…" description: "\"We are usually told that democracy originated in ancient Athens—like science, or philosophy, it was a Greek invention. It’s never entirely clear what t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/david-graeber-4667_ancient_we-are-usually-told-that-democracy-origi_2874421.png" --- # We are usually told that democracy originated in ancient… ![“We are usually told that democracy originated in ancient Athens—like science, or philosophy, it was a Greek invention. It’s never entirely clear what this is supposed to mean. Are we supposed to believe that before the Athenians, it never really occurred to anyone, anywhere, to gather all the…” quote by David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/david-graeber-4667_ancient_we-are-usually-told-that-democracy-origi_2874421.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/david-graeber-4667_ancient_we-are-usually-told-that-democracy-origi_2874421.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f39/david-graeber-4667_ancient_we-are-usually-told-that-democracy-origi_2874421.png) > “We are usually told that democracy originated in ancient Athens—like science, or philosophy, it was a Greek invention. It’s never entirely clear what this is supposed to mean. Are we supposed to believe that before the Athenians, it never really occurred to anyone, anywhere, to gather all the members of their community in order to make joint decisions in a way that gave everyone equal say?” [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy’s origins are not uniquely Greek; collective decision‑making is a universal human practice. **In simple terms:** Democracy isn’t only a Greek invention. Key Takeaway Recognize diverse roots of democratic ideas. Themes history politics culture Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - civic education - policy design - community organizing - global governance Key Concepts political theory anthropology Questions to Reflect On - What non‑Greek societies practiced collective governance? - How does this affect our view of democracy? A Different Perspective Modern democracy often ignores non‑Western contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Athenians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athenians/) [Athenians Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athenians-really-3949612/) [Athens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athens/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Athenians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-athenians-3949611/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Originated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-originated-3949610/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Joints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joints/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/members/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [We have the ability to be the Athens of modern times as opposed to the militaristic Sparta. I remind you that the Athenians wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/we-have-the-ability-to-be-the-athens-of-modern-times-as-opposed-to/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts And eloquence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/athens-the-eye-of-greece-mother-of-arts-and-eloquence/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [If the modern spirit, whatever that may be, is disinclined towards taking the Lord's word at its face value (as I hear is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-nock/if-the-modern-spirit-whatever-that-may-be-is-disinclined-towards/) [Albert J. Nock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-nock/) > [The Andrians were the first of the islanders to refuse Themistocles' demand for money. 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M. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-robertson/) > [Being summoned by the Athenians out of Sicily to plead for his life, Alcibiades absconded, saying that that criminal was a fool who studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/being-summoned-by-the-athenians-out-of-sicily-to-plead-for-his-life/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [What made the war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/what-made-the-war-inevitable-was-the-growth-of-athenian-power-and-the/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Eloquence, when at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection; but addressing itself entirely to the fancy or the affections, captivates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/eloquence-when-at-its-highest-pitch-leaves-little-room-for-reason-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Eutrapelia . "A happy and gracious flexibility," Pericles calls this quality of the Athenians...lucidity of thought, clearness and propriety of language, freedom from prejudice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/eutrapelia-a-happy-and-gracious-flexibility-pericles-calls-this/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Demosthenes told Phocion, "The Athenians will kill you some day when they once are in a rage." "And you," said he, "if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/demosthenes-told-phocion-the-athenians-will-kill-you-some-day-when/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [ Everyone, including the Athenians \[...\] are right to accept advice from anyone, since it is incumbent on everyone to share in that sort of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/protagoras/everyone-including-the-athenians-are-right-to-accept-advice-from/) [Protagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/protagoras/) > [The great thing about writing about the ancient Spartans or Athenians is that so much knowledge is no longer extant that no one, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-great-thing-about-writing-about-the-ancient-spartans-or-athenians/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The revolt in Asia Minor was snugged out in 494, and the Athenians realized that they had acquired a dangerous enemy. Darius I's first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ryan/the-revolt-in-asia-minor-was-snugged-out-in-494-and-the-athenians/) [Alan Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ryan/) ## More by David Graeber > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. 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It's not "really" anything; therefore, its nature has always been and presumably always will be a matter of political conten­tion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/money-has-no-essence-it-s-not-really-anything-therefore-its-nature/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/about-the-only-thing-we-can-imagine-is-catastrophe/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The working poor are the people suffering out subprime mortgages and fatal loans and more and more of our money - you know, capitalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-working-poor-are-the-people-suffering-out-subprime-mortgages-and/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“Solitary pleasures will always exist, but for most human beings, the most pleasurable activities almost always involve sharing something: music, food, liquor, drugs, gossip,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/solitary-pleasures-will-always-exist-but-for-most-human-beings-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“IMF is really designed to protect creditors not debtors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/imf-is-really-designed-to-protect-creditors-not-debtors/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. 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The human imagination stubbornly refuses to die. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-the-events-of-2011-reveal-the-age-of-revolutions-is-by-no-means/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Explore all 106 David Graeber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. 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It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. 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