What would ancient Greeks have made of the current protests relating to the oil industry and identity reassignment? Very little indeed.

The Greek invention of democracy (‘people power’) emerged in the late 6th century bc after strong popular demand for more political control over tyrants and oligarchs. The result was a system in which all male citizens over 18 debated and determined all political questions in the regular Assemblies. Most official posts were held, usually for one year, by citizens who presented themselves for selection by lot (voting was considered meritocratic, not democratic), with serious consequences for failure.

Anyone who wished to wield power could do so only through his capacity to persuade a majority of the all-powerful Assembly. This is where free speech came in. Every citizen had a right to an ‘equal say’ (isegoria) in the Assembly to express his views or propose a motion. Likewise, every citizen had a right to parrhesia (literally, ‘saying everything’), i.e. an unconstrained frankness of public utterance. But these were ‘rights’ only because a (rescindable) law made them so.

So any Greek who wanted to Just Stop Olive Oil had to Just Persuade The Assembly. To ‘persuade’ people by frustrating their normal life was to use force, inviting force in return, when the point of democracy was to replace force with peaceful agreement. 

As for those urging gender changes on children who rather feel like it, a Greek’s reaction – incredulity and outrage apart – would probably have been to wonder how banners, uproar and silently glueing yourself to tarmac would persuade anyone, or indicate at all how the community would benefit. Such tactics do not win debates, let alone respect. 

But debate is the last thing these people want. They have different tactics: cancellation and the fear that generates, especially among the young, of speaking out. Maoist re-education seems to be working rather well.