"He who thus considers things in their first growth and origin, whether a state or anything else, will obtain the clearest view of them. In the first place there must be a union of those who cannot exist without each other; namely, of male and female, that the race may continue (and this is a union which is formed, not of deliberate purpose, but because, in common with other animals and with plants, mankind have a natural desire to leave behind them an image of themselves), and of natural ruler and subject, that both may be preserved. For that which can foresee by the exercise of mind is by nature intended to be lord and master, and that which can with its body give effect to such foresight is a subject, and by nature a slave; hence master and slave have the same interest. Now nature has distinguished between the female and the slave. For she is not niggardly, like the smith who fashions the Delphian knife for many uses; she makes each thing for a single use, and every instrument is best made when intended for one and not for many uses. But among barbarians no distinction is made between women and slaves, because there is no natural ruler among them: they are a community of slaves, male and female." - Aristotle, Politics, 4th paragraph — Aristotle
From Aristotle's inspiration, Alexander the Great's conquests built the largest empire ever known. Alexander died early and unexpectedly. His empire immediately dissolved into battles between his Generals. Had Alexander not suddenly died, he would have been able to institute a democratic constitution, like that of Solon (~600 BCE), in accordance with Aristotle's tutelage.
Even in the last decade, politicians have increasingly regarded the Solonic Constitution as the cornerstone of modern, healthy democracies. When Soviet Russia invaded Afghanistan in 1979 CE, it thought that communism could safely supplant military dictatorship, but failed. in 2001 CE, the USA touted that its idealistic superiority justified a further attempt to invade Afghanistan, but it failed. Four years later, the USA touted the same idealistic superiority in Iraq, but this time it made the formation of a new Iraqi Constitution a top priority after conquest, even more important than terrorist suppression.
The slow success in Iraq has been internationally embittered as foul play. Some say the constitution did not really provide much of an improvement. For example, Iraqi women already had the right to vote since 1980. But the problem has not been so much in political governance, and far more with moral justification for invasion. The USA justified the invasion to the United Nations by claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), but they were never found. So the USA has now lost the moral right for further invasions entirely, no matter what the actual value of Solonic Constitutions, and has been increasingly retreating into nationalism. Meanwhile, the rest of the world has become more cynical, ironically moving back to viewing democracy as the best option among worse alternatives...just as Aristotle did 23 centuries ago. — ernestm
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