Between Democracy and Ochlocracy in the Context of the Centuries-Old Dispute about the Perfect Form of Government: The Legal Heritage of the Antiquity in View of the Challenges of Modernity

Abstract

The author endeavored to enliven the universal discourse on the perfect system of government applicable to human society, which to many luminaries constitutes a certain paradigm of the science on the state and the law. While adopting a classical, chronological convention of the narrative herein commenced, the author made the time of Antiquity the point of departure, selected the Enlightenment as a form of a modern counterpoint thereto, and then finalized the deliberations carried out here against the reality of contemporary times. The intent of the exploration here was to place the research subject within the interdisciplinary framework, which was undoubtedly supported by the multifaceted nature of the problem at issue and by subsidiary utilization of the advantages of the comparative approach. The intention to present the issue through a broad perspective, transcending the boundaries of academic discourse, was naturally convergent therewith. As a result, the author did not shy from controversy, seeking the purpose of the actions undertaken, thereby in the formation of conclusions on what the applicable law should be. That allowed for the presentation of numerous remarks, assessments, and opinions, among which at least some may be deemed disputatious or plainly speaking, highly debatable. The investigator did not attempt to evade those; on the contrary – sought it in complete premeditation.