No, it’s a convoluted system that was designed specifically to fool people with the illusion of democracy and in reality keep power in hands of more or less steady oligarchy. Not accidentally usians are frothing and calling it “REPUBLIC” when you talk with them about “democracy” because it’s been modelled on a late Roman Republic where circa 0,5% of citizens had real influence on the state.
There really was no illusions made when it was first set up. It was explicitly stated that even common land owners were not to be democratically trusted. The illusions come later as the system is reformed and the antidemocratic measures were wallpapered over.
Fun fact: Romans invented gerrymandering. They were signing in all the new citizens to just few of the tribes, just in case the new ones actually went to Rome for any voting in those comitia. Imagine something like having 100 million people in constituencies for everyone not living in DC.
No, it’s a convoluted system that was designed specifically to fool people with the illusion of democracy and in reality keep power in hands of more or less steady oligarchy. Not accidentally usians are frothing and calling it “REPUBLIC” when you talk with them about “democracy” because it’s been modelled on a late Roman Republic where circa 0,5% of citizens had real influence on the state.
There really was no illusions made when it was first set up. It was explicitly stated that even common land owners were not to be democratically trusted. The illusions come later as the system is reformed and the antidemocratic measures were wallpapered over.
Fun fact: Romans invented gerrymandering. They were signing in all the new citizens to just few of the tribes, just in case the new ones actually went to Rome for any voting in those comitia. Imagine something like having 100 million people in constituencies for everyone not living in DC.