Direct democracy is also more plausible in an age where you only have 10k voters (we exclude the women, the poor, foreigners, slaves, the unsound, etc) and the issues of the day are pretty simple to understand and become informed about. The classical Athenians didn't have to worry about smog, so they didn't need chemical, industrial, or environmental specialists that deal with these things to come up with potential plans. It's not to say they didn't have issues, just that the scope is much, much broader now.
Comments
Direct democracy is also more plausible in an age where you only have 10k voters (we exclude the women, the poor, foreigners, slaves, the unsound, etc) and the issues of the day are pretty simple to understand and become informed about. The classical Athenians didn't have to worry about smog, so they didn't need chemical, industrial, or environmental specialists that deal with these things to come up with potential plans. It's not to say they didn't have issues, just that the scope is much, much broader now.