We must bear in mind that the Greeks functioned in a world of severe technological and cultural limitations. There was neither water power nor wheelbarrow, banks nor Bible. Still, Greek stupidity cannot be properly attributed to such limitations or the absence of such items. It was shaped primarily by the interaction of 1.) the city-state—particularly its divisive role in Greek history; 2.) slavery—particularly as it divorced "Doing" from "Thinking"; and 3.) philosophical thought—particularly deductive logic and Platonic ideals.

The self-governing city-state was both the greatest political achievement of Greece and a fatal limitation in that it proved to be a pragmatic barrier to the development of Greek thought and identity. It was considered the ultimate form of political life because it embodied the Greek ideal of a compact little static world impervious to outside influences and secure against reality. However, it was also incapable of growth or development as a political entity, so each was limited to making treaties and quarreling with its neighbors. Further, as all aspired to absolute sovereignty, they perforce failed to cultivate any enduring political union which might have promoted the framing of a common legal system to settle interstate disputes or the building of roads to facilitate transportation.

Plato estimated the ideal size for a city-state to be between 1,000 and 5,000 citizens and thought such a state could hold its own against similar rival states, which it probably could. He worked all this out a century after the Persians had crossed the Hellespont in the belief that the age of world empires was passing away when, in the West, it was just beginning, but if he was mistaken in this regard, he was not alone. Even as Alexander was rendering the city-state obsolete, Aristotle could find no merit in any other form of polity so he joined his mentor in hailing it right up to the days of the Macedonian empire.

stupidity.net

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