From the Summit of the Moral High Ground

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. 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 freedo...