{"title":"Josiah Ober","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJosiah Ober\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a profound exploration of ancient Greek society, delving into the foundations of democracy and civic life. His works illuminate the political and historical forces that shaped classical Greece, combining rigorous scholarship with accessible insights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect thoughtful analyses that bridge history, politics, and philosophy, shedding light on the origins and evolution of democratic governance alongside the challenges faced by ancient societies.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-civic-bargain-by-josiah-ober-9780691218601","title":"The Civic Bargain","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA powerful case for democracy and how it can adapt and survive - if we want it to.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIs democracy in trouble, perhaps even dying? Pundits say so, and polls show that most Americans believe that their country's system of governance is being 'tested' or is 'under attack'. But is the future of democracy necessarily so dire? In \u003cem\u003eThe Civic Bargain\u003c\/em\u003e, Brook Manville and Josiah Ober push back against the prevailing pessimism about the fate of democracy around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInstead of an epitaph for democracy, they offer a guide for democratic renewal, calling on citizens to recommit to a 'civic bargain' with one another to guarantee civic rights of freedom, equality, and dignity. That bargain also requires them to fulfil the duties of democratic citizenship: governing themselves with no 'boss' except one another, embracing compromise, treating each other as civic friends, and investing in civic education for each rising generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eManville and Ober trace the long progression toward self-government through four key moments in democracy's history: Classical Athens, Republican Rome, Great Britain's constitutional monarchy, and America's founding. Comparing what worked and what failed in each case, they draw out lessons for how modern democracies can survive and thrive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eManville and Ober show that democracy isn't about getting everything we want; it's about agreeing on a shared framework for pursuing our often conflicting aims. Crucially, citizens need to be able to compromise, and must not treat one another as political enemies. And we must accept imperfection; democracy is never finished but evolves and renews itself continually. As long as the civic bargain is maintained - through deliberation, bargaining, and compromise - democracy will live.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46850012905708,"sku":"9780691218601","price":57.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/2173153482434.jpg?v=1759074915"},{"product_id":"the-rise-and-fall-of-classical-greece-by-josiah-ober-9780691173146","title":"The Rise and Fall of Classical Greece","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLord Byron described Greece as great, fallen, and immortal, a characterization more apt than he knew. Through most of its long history, Greece was poor. But in the classical era, Greece was densely populated and highly urbanized. Many surprisingly healthy Greeks lived in remarkably big houses and worked for high wages at specialized occupations. Middle-class spending drove sustained economic growth, and classical wealth produced a stunning cultural efflorescence lasting hundreds of years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhy did Greece reach such heights in the classical period—and why only then? And how, after the Greek miracle had endured for centuries, did the Macedonians defeat the Greeks, seemingly bringing an end to their glory? Drawing on a massive body of newly available data and employing novel approaches to evidence, Josiah Ober offers a major new history of classical Greece and an unprecedented account of its rise and fall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOber argues that Greece's rise was no miracle but rather the result of political breakthroughs and economic development. The extraordinary emergence of citizen-centred city-states transformed Greece into a society that defeated the mighty Persian Empire. Yet Philip and Alexander of Macedon were able to beat the Greeks in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, a victory made possible by the Macedonians' appropriation of Greek innovations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter Alexander's death, battle-hardened warlords fought ruthlessly over the remnants of his empire. But Greek cities remained populous and wealthy, their economy and culture surviving to be passed on to the Romans—and to us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Rise and Fall of Classical Greece\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e is a compelling narrative filled with uncanny modern parallels, perfect for anyone interested in how great civilisations are born and die. This book is based on evidence available on a new interactive website. To learn more, please visit: \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/polis.stanford.edu\/\"\u003ehttp:\/\/polis.stanford.edu\/\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46850376728812,"sku":"9780691173146","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/1718603482434.jpg?v=1759085431"},{"product_id":"the-greeks-and-the-rational-by-josiah-ober-9780520380165","title":"The Greeks and the Rational","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis revisionist history traces an influential theory of practical reason from its origins in ancient Greece to its modern and contemporary permutations.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Greek discovery of practical reason, as the skilled performance of strategic thinking in public and private affairs, was an intellectual breakthrough that remains both a feature and a bug of our modern world. Countering arguments that rational choice-making is a contingent product of modernity, \u003cem\u003eThe Greeks and the Rational\u003c\/em\u003e traces the long history of theorizing rationality back to ancient Greece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this book, Josiah Ober explores how ancient Greek sophists, historians, and philosophers developed sophisticated and systematic ideas about practical reason. At the same time, they recognized its limits—that not every decision can be reduced to mechanistic calculations of optimal outcomes. We see contemporary echoes of this tradition in the application of game theory to political science, economics, and business management. \u003cem\u003eThe Greeks and the Rational\u003c\/em\u003e offers a striking revisionist history with widespread implications for the study of ancient Greek civilization, the history of thought, and human rationality itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000785420524,"sku":"9780520380165","price":66.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/7021983482373.jpg?v=1763304589"},{"product_id":"origins-of-democracy-in-ancient-greece-by-josiah-ober-9780520258099","title":"Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book presents a state-of-the-art debate about the origins of Athenian democracy by five eminent scholars. The result is a stimulating, critical exploration and interpretation of the extant evidence on this intriguing and important topic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors address such questions as: Why was democracy first realised in ancient Greece? Was democracy \"invented\" or did it evolve over a long period of time? What were the conditions for democracy, the social and political foundations that made this development possible? And what factors turned the possibility of democracy into necessity and reality?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors first examine the conditions in early Greek society that encouraged equality and \"people's power.\" They then scrutinise, in their social and political contexts, three crucial points in the evolution of democracy: the reforms connected with the names of Solon, Cleisthenes, and Ephialtes in the early and late sixth and mid-fifth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, an ancient historian and a political scientist review the arguments presented in the previous chapters and add their own perspectives, asking what lessons we can draw today from the ancient democratic experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDesigned for a general readership as well as students and scholars, \u003cem\u003eOrigins of Democracy in Ancient Greece\u003c\/em\u003e intends to provoke discussion by presenting side by side the evidence and arguments that support various explanations of the origins of democracy, thus enabling readers to join in the debate and draw their own conclusions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471319875820,"sku":"9780520258099","price":60.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780520258099-origins-of-democracy-in-ancient-greece.jpg?v=1775239281"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/josiah-ober.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}