Could this ancient Greek idea make us better citizens? | Scott Reich

Scott Reich (0:00)

The Athenians understood something profound.

Democracy is not self-executing. Citizens are not simply born, they are made.

Elise Hu (0:14)

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu.

In ancient Athens, young citizens spent two years training to understand and defend democracy before they earned full civic rights. The writer Scott Reich believes that idea holds a lesson America has never quite learned. He sees the country facing a crisis of connection and says it shows up in how many Americans feel about the country itself.

Scott Reich (0:44)

If democracy needs citizens to care about one another, why have we never built a system that actually trains people to do that?

Many young people today feel what I call cynical patriotism. They love our country, but they don't quite yet feel it belongs to them. And can we blame them?

Elise Hu (1:05)

In his talk, Scott makes the case for what he calls a fourth founding for America, one that would reshape not just the country's laws, but us, its citizens.

Scott Reich (1:15)

Imagine all young Americans, 18 to 24, devote a year of service to the country. Not just in the military, teachers and classrooms, people working in local governments, charitable organizations, disaster relief efforts.

Getting involved in the community. And in return for strengthening the civic infrastructure of the nation, we make a reciprocal commitment.

Elise Hu (1:42)

Scott's conviction is personal. His young son has a rare disorder and needs around-the-clock care. The therapists, teachers, and neighbors who have shown up for his family opened his eyes to a side of community that many never see.

That's coming up right after a short break.

SPEAKER_3 (2:05)

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Elise Hu (2:32)

This episode is brought to you by TikTok. I used to think great work was about being in the right headspace. Then I found a TikTok video that made me think about my physical space. An interior designer explores how things like ceiling height and room size might influence how we think. Now I wonder how much of our environment shapes our work without us noticing. Now I'm looking at my workspace, asking what kind of thinking I'm making room for. On TikTok, one idea can change how you see something you thought you knew.

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And now, our TED Talk of the day.

Scott Reich (4:03)

I'm a historian who studies moments and events that define how we relate to each other, and I believe that the key to renewing American democracy is 2,500 years old and hiding in plain sight. Not in a constitution, not in a court decision, not in a political movement, but in a simple idea about what it means to be a citizen. In my view, the United States has already experienced three founding moments. In 1776, the Declaration established the moral creed of equality. In 1787, the Constitution created the framework of the republic. In 1865, the Civil War forced the nation to expand freedom.

But the more I've studied our history, the more convinced I've become that we missed a founding, one that reshapes citizens themselves. And I believe that today America needs that missing chapter. We need a fourth founding. Let's go back 2,500 years to ancient Athens, where modern democracy was invented, and people immediately, of course, began saying, this will never last.

There's something crucial about Athenian democracy that we often overlook. You see, Athenians did not assume that citizens would naturally possess the virtue required to govern themselves. They trained it. Beginning in the fourth century BCE, Athens required its young citizens to participate in a two-year military and civic service program known as the Ophibia. Eighteen-year-olds would enter training corps and learn the laws of the city and what it meant to defend democracy, not just with weapons, but with judgment. As part of this program, these young citizens would stand together and recite an oath in which they pledged to leave the city not less, but greater than they received it. Only upon completing this program did these individuals gain full civic rights.