see, “open” means that everyone is included in the government itself. And “revolving” means that everyone shares ruling power equally in the government.
The Law of Democracy is: “Who says open, revolving, circular organization, says democracy.” We can illustrate this structural law of democracy with this picture of an open circle with an arrow showing the unique, all-inclusive flow of political power when we, the people, really rule ourselves.
If we want to emphasize the contrast between this Law of Democracy and the Iron Law of Oligarchy, we could use a metallic description also, and call it the Golden Law of Democracy. “Iron” suggests permanence — and the rigidity of a prison, the rusty corrosion of corruption. “Golden” suggests permanence as well — but also the flexibility and precious value of democracy. It evokes classical Athens in its Golden Age and puts real democracy in this shining tradition.
The Athenian Model of Real Democracy
The Golden Law of Democracy could be used as a slogan, and this picture of the circular structure of democracy could be a logo, but they are much more than this. We can now draw on the historic records of Athens’ democracy to see exactly how specific institutions and practical mechanisms made democracy an actual government of the people. As we do so, we can combine these factual details with the Law of Democracy and the picture of the open, revolving circle to reconstruct the