10. Ancient Greek Aristocratic Governments Were Usually Bad For Business
In many ways, while some Greek tyrants could and did turn bad, tyranny as an institution in ancient Greece was not all bad. Tyrants typically overthrew oligarchic regimes in which all the power had been hogged by a narrow slice of aristocrats. Once the power of the aristocracy was reduced, government under tyrants tended to be more equitable, rather than wildly skewed to benefit the nobles. Economically, commoners also tended to be better off under the tyrants, who usually encouraged endeavors such as commerce and crafts and manufactures.
Such activities had typically been viewed by the nobles and their overthrown governments as socially gauche at a minimum. Thus, in a best-case scenario, commerce and manufacturing suffered from the aristocratic regimes’ benign neglect. That is when they were not actively opposed by the aristocrats’ governments. Commerce and manufacturing were often seen as threats to the nobility. From their perspective, such activities destabilized the social order because they allowed jumped up commoners to become as rich as or richer than their social betters.
