26. Ancient Greek Commoners Fared Better When Ruled by a Tyrant Than When Ruled by Aristocrats
Ancient Greek commoners tended to be better off economically under tyrants. A tyrant, usually encouraged activities such as commerce and crafts and manufactures, that benefited commoners. Those types of pursuits were viewed by the aristocracy as socially gauche, and even threatening insofar as they destabilized the social order by making jumped up commoners as rich as or richer than their social betters.
By breaking the power of the aristocracy, an ancient Greek tyranny was often necessary first step on the road to democracy. It removed from democracy’s path the barrier of strongly entrenched nobles who had previously held power in a death grip, refusing to share it with commoners. Tyrants had an interest in weakening the aristocrats who had monopolized power for centuries. So they adopted populist policies that appealed to commoners, whose support was necessary for the tyrant’s continued hold on power. Only after the aristocracy had been weakened, and its stranglehold on power broken, was there an opening for democracy to emerge.
