PBS Empire Series: Greek: Crucible of Civilizations

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PBS Empire Series Greek Crucible of
Civilizations

• A Legacy of Trade, Technology, Democracy, Arts,
  Architecture, Science, Warfare, Philosophy, and
  Imaginations

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Main Issues

• Competition between city state (Athens) and
  empire (Iran)
• Xenophon economics family management public
  finance
• Samuelson choice between cannon and butter
• Technology and military power
• Democracy its strength and weakness, why it was
  not sustained?
• The meaning of an civilization arts, science,
  and great ideas
• Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

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Selection Mechanism in Social Evolution

• Gene selection family and kin-selection
• Individual selection arts and science?
• Group selection war and states
• Individualism is a sure winner???
• Advantage and disadvantages of individualism

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Competing Social Theories and Historical Evidence

• Plato gt Utopia Ideal city state philosopher
  kingcommunist soldierscitizens)
• Aristotle gt Classification of states monarchy,
  aristocracy, democracy
• Rousseau Social contract, man was born free
• Adam Smith Invisible hand
• Marx Class struggle and evolution from classless
  to class society
• Coase Two-person free bargaining leads to
  optimal institution gt history does not matter
• Huntington Conflicting civilizations