How Did Humans Discover Democracy?

Right now, someone is complaining about a politician online, and they have no idea what that complaint actually costs. The right to criticize the people in power wasn't a gift — it was fought for, argued for, voted for, and in a lot of cases, died for. This is the real story of democracy: an ambitious Greek aristocrat who handed power to the people mostly to beat a political rival, a philosopher executed by democratic vote for asking too many questions, officials chosen by lottery, citizens exiled for ten years over a scratched piece of pottery, and the two-hundred-year gap between a right existing on paper and that right actually being enforced. In this video: 00:00 The strangest thing about complaining online 00:45 Cleisthenes — democracy's accidental, self-interested founder 02:30 The Council, the Assembly, and choosing officials by lottery 04:00 Ostracism — exile by pottery shard 06:00 Who actually got to vote (and who absolutely didn't) 07:30 Socrates: executed by the system he helped make possible 10:00 Rome, empire, and a thousand dark years 11:30 Magna Carta, the Enlightenment, and the birth of limits on power 13:00 1776 and 1789 — revolution, and the gap between the words and the reality 15:30 New Zealand 1893: the first country to let women vote 17:00 The Voting Rights Act and the hundred-year gap 19:00 What percentage of the world actually lives in a democracy today If you liked this, check out how humans invented countries, kings, and racism — links below. 👍 Like if this changed how you think about your right to vote. 🔔 Subscribe for more "how did humans invent/discover/domesticate ___" videos, new uploads regularly. 💬 Comment what you want covered next. #HowDidHumansInvent #DemocracyHistory #History#DemocracyHistory #HowDidHumansInvent #AncientGreece #History #Politic