History lessons for Jersey: Athens & Sparta - Adapatable versus fixed constitutions

Historical Archive

This article is preserved as part of the historical record of this blog. It reflects the author's views at the time of publication. The content has not been substantively altered, although the HTML, accessibility and formatting have been updated to meet modern web standards.

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The two great city states of Ancient Greece embody a philosophical battle which is waged in all modern constitutions: the battle between state control and personal freedom.

For a brief period these two city states were the superpowers of the world. Today Sparta is a rural village which is home to goat herds and little else, whilst Athens, birthplace of much of what we consider to be civilisation, still flourishes.

The battle between these two constitutional philosophies is the libertarian/authoritarian political cleavage, one of the divisions which exists in every society: the individual against the state.

Like Sparta, states which are overly restrictive of individual freedoms, unable to adapt to new situations, and determined to prevent inevitable change are ultimately doomed to fail despite any brief period of glory.

Sparta was unique in Ancient Greece in that it held fellow Greeks, the Helots, as slaves who provided everything needed to support a standing army of citizens. Sparta rose to dominate the peninsula and even sacked Athens, but Athenian flexibility and ingenuity meant that Athens was simply abandoned until the Spartans departed.

Sparta's constitution contained numerous checks and balances. Two kings could not rule without the approval of the ephors, and citizenship could easily be lost. The system was rigid and brutal, and over time the number of citizens steadily declined.

The problem lay in Sparta's inability to adapt. As neighbouring states such as Thebes and Corinth matched Sparta militarily, and ideas of liberty reached the Helots, rebellion followed. The system collapsed because the army could neither suppress the revolt nor sustain the economy.

Athens, by comparison, operated a system of direct democracy. Decisions were made by public vote and, at moments of crisis, new leaders emerged. By embracing new ideas and remaining adaptable, Athens secured its place in history as the birthplace of Western civilisation.

A modern comparison can be drawn between Sparta and the Soviet Union: centrally planned economies, excessive bureaucracy and unsustainable government spending eventually prevented the state from supplying basic necessities. Attempts at reform merely accelerated collapse.

Jersey has a very Spartan constitution. It also has a very high level of government spending compared with many European nations once expenditure such as defence, foreign affairs and debt interest is excluded. In the United Kingdom, net expenditure amounts to around £14,000 per household; in Jersey the figure is around £22,000 per household.

I reject the argument that Jersey can be directly compared with sovereign states. We are different and should not attempt to imitate them. Nor should high government spending elsewhere justify similar policies here.

Jersey does not depend upon Helots for its basic necessities, but upon the finance industry. Through increasing regulation and uncertainty surrounding the global banking sector, the Island's economic future may become more precarious. Should taxes continue to rise, the modern equivalents of the Helots may eventually rebel politically.

At the recent election, however, the vote was overwhelmingly for business as usual. Sir Philip Bailhache remained a noted opponent of constitutional reform. Looking at history, the choice appears to be either resisting change until failure, as Sparta did, or attempting reform too late, as happened in the Soviet Union.

The better course, the course of Athens, is the one least likely to be taken: embracing inevitable change, encouraging fresh ideas from the people, adapting to new realities and securing a place in whatever new order follows.

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Historical Archive Update

This page was updated on 27 July 2026. The content has been preserved as originally published. This update was undertaken solely to modernise the HTML markup, improve accessibility, correct obvious spelling mistakes and grammatical slips, update obsolete links where appropriate, and bring the page into line with current web standards.