This is my first post on the forums and also my first time-line, so any constructive criticism on either forum etiquette or the time-line itself would be welcomed and indeed heartily encouraged. The TL details the rise of an ambitious, radical movement based upon the concept of Athenian democracy in post-civil war Spain. I'm not entirely sure how good it is, but here it is regardless. Enjoy, and once again, comments would be much appreciated and the input of Spanish speakers especially revered, for google translate is a fickle tool at best.
The Second World War had ended, resulting in a devastating defeat for the Fascist and National Socialist powers of Europe, both Germany and Italy brought to their knees leaving themselves entirely at the mercy of the victorious Allies. And whilst the victors took their spoils from the Axis they regarded the far right dictatorship of Francisco Franco in neighbouring Spain with vicious contempt, seeing them as a remnant of the European evil and as a threat to the democracy that they had spent six years and millions of lives defending.
And whilst the isolation from the world’s economy looked bleak for Franco, what with him being denied a place in the United Nations and a worldwide attitude of condemnation towards his administration, the domestic situation looked even worse; with the country’s greatest minds and greatest workers living in exile or being forced to lie low and the rest of the country secretly dissatisfied with the censorship, brutality and intolerance of the regime they lived under, Franco’s position was precarious, with his police state unable to entirely silence the grumblings.
One place in which the satisfaction was most deeply felt was in Seville, where a political thinker evolving intellectually in this charged environment, named Alphonse Marcos, created a new political idea that would drastically shape the future of Spain. Marcos was deeply set against the totalitarian government under which Spain was suffering, but he also viewed the other end of the political spectrum with a degree of contempt, having himself seen the failure of this system to repel Falangism. Furthermore, he also believed that the representative democracy used in many Western countries was ineffective, open to corruption and easy to overrun. He saw only one option; a radical overhaul with the people in mind. He began to craft a new political mindset that he believed would properly represent the people whilst also being a feasible way of running a successful, internationally appreciated nation.
He dubbed this new system as Athenian Democracy, taking inspiration from the political system used by Athens up to 336 BC, in which every citizen (the definition of citizen was indeed different in Athens at the time, basically meaning well educated men of Greek descent) voted on all pieces of legislation. Marcos believed that one of the fundamental problems with modern democracy was that parties operated on a system of greed and that doing away with these corrupt, capitalist machines and directly asking the people their opinions on legislation and other issues to make sure that the general public were represented as far as was politically possible was the logical way forward.
In July 1947 he completed his Seven commandments (Siete Mandamientos) of Athenian Democracy (Democracia Ateniense) that would be the framework for a Spanish nation under AD (Athenian Democracy)
For the use of propaganda and dramatic impact, he shortened the commandments down to seven short statements that would become the mantra of the movement:
In the majority of situations these political thoughts, outlandishly radical for a western democracy, would have been dismissed as the ranting of a lunatic or the ludicrous views of an isolated political dreamer. However, in the bars and workplaces of Seville, Marcos was a well known and extremely popular figure, with his charisma, friendliness and wit affording him a large amount of influence over the working class of the city. Using this to his advantage, he handed pamphlets filled with the details of AD to the people he knew, whilst actively discussing with people the pros and cons of the system. Despite the idea’s risqué ideals and the danger of harbouring adversarial political views under the censorship and oppression of Franco, some people came round to the idea, although the vast majority dismissed it as nonsense akin to communism or were too scared to even consider the idea.
And even amongst those that wholeheartedly agreed with Marcos’ thoughts, most were unwilling to give any real support to the cause beyond words of encouragement, hardly useful to AD’s bid to become the dominant force in post-war Spain. However, there were some whose contempt of Franco and the willingness to accept the seven commandments meant that they were happy to actively help the cause. Marcos, hesitant of Franco’s secret police and the unthinkable consequences of anti-Falange activism, took a long time narrowing the interested group of people down into those that would be useful and trustworthy, taking every possible precaution that a meeting could be arranged without the worst case scenario coming to pass; a discovery of the underground movement by Franco’s intelligence network.
Eventually he decided on a time and meeting place for a gathering of about 60 AD supporters. It would happen on the 21st January, 1948 in the basement of the Giralda Bar, Seville, were they would come together to discuss their ideals and possible ways of toppling Franco’s regime. The first meeting didn’t achieve anything material; the opinions and methods of action were vague and seemingly unrealistic, but it did succeed in creating an excitement amongst the men, who were beginning to truly believe in AD, and also in enticing more people to attend who were previously too afraid to take a role in AD, leading to a slow but steady expansion of the movement. The foundations of an AD Spain were shaky and seemingly short lived, but they remained nonetheless and would one day expand beyond the realistic intentions of any of the men in that bar that fateful evening in the mild winter of Seville.
Chapter I – The Foundations of Athenian Democracy
The Second World War had ended, resulting in a devastating defeat for the Fascist and National Socialist powers of Europe, both Germany and Italy brought to their knees leaving themselves entirely at the mercy of the victorious Allies. And whilst the victors took their spoils from the Axis they regarded the far right dictatorship of Francisco Franco in neighbouring Spain with vicious contempt, seeing them as a remnant of the European evil and as a threat to the democracy that they had spent six years and millions of lives defending.
And whilst the isolation from the world’s economy looked bleak for Franco, what with him being denied a place in the United Nations and a worldwide attitude of condemnation towards his administration, the domestic situation looked even worse; with the country’s greatest minds and greatest workers living in exile or being forced to lie low and the rest of the country secretly dissatisfied with the censorship, brutality and intolerance of the regime they lived under, Franco’s position was precarious, with his police state unable to entirely silence the grumblings.
One place in which the satisfaction was most deeply felt was in Seville, where a political thinker evolving intellectually in this charged environment, named Alphonse Marcos, created a new political idea that would drastically shape the future of Spain. Marcos was deeply set against the totalitarian government under which Spain was suffering, but he also viewed the other end of the political spectrum with a degree of contempt, having himself seen the failure of this system to repel Falangism. Furthermore, he also believed that the representative democracy used in many Western countries was ineffective, open to corruption and easy to overrun. He saw only one option; a radical overhaul with the people in mind. He began to craft a new political mindset that he believed would properly represent the people whilst also being a feasible way of running a successful, internationally appreciated nation.
He dubbed this new system as Athenian Democracy, taking inspiration from the political system used by Athens up to 336 BC, in which every citizen (the definition of citizen was indeed different in Athens at the time, basically meaning well educated men of Greek descent) voted on all pieces of legislation. Marcos believed that one of the fundamental problems with modern democracy was that parties operated on a system of greed and that doing away with these corrupt, capitalist machines and directly asking the people their opinions on legislation and other issues to make sure that the general public were represented as far as was politically possible was the logical way forward.
In July 1947 he completed his Seven commandments (Siete Mandamientos) of Athenian Democracy (Democracia Ateniense) that would be the framework for a Spanish nation under AD (Athenian Democracy)
- Every week a referendum shall be given to every Spanish citizen over the age of 21 on which they can vote on whether or not to pass legislation, whether to go to war and the allocation of the budget controlled by an elected Chancellor.
- This legislation will be put forward and reviewed by a People’s Council of 30 who will be voted for every 2 years. The first amongst equals of this council shall be known as President for the purpose of international relations. Anyone can run for a position on the people’s council, although the candidates will be narrowed down by a commission who will regard the qualifications of the applicants and what they would bring to Spain.
- Legislation can also be proposed by the people through the use of initiatives. If an initiative gets 75,000 signatures then the People’s Council will overview and modify the bill before adding it to that weeks referendum.
- There shall be no political parties, for there is no need for indirect representation when the people can vote on issues directly.
- The only issues on which the people cannot vote are those involving the budget and taxes, ensuring that austerity measures can be put in place if needed. The people will have a degree of input regarding the allocation of the budget, however.
- Every year a referendum will be released allowing the people to vote on whether they want AD to continue or not. If more than 50% of voters no longer want the system, it shall be immediately dismantled to be replaced by a ‘normal’ government.
- Political education will be critical within schools and amongst the adult population to ensure that decisions are well informed. This will be handled by the Minister of Political Education who will put forward legislation to be agreed upon by the people.
For the use of propaganda and dramatic impact, he shortened the commandments down to seven short statements that would become the mantra of the movement:
- Las demandas populares (The Demands of the People)
- El consejo popular (The Council of the People)
- Las leyes populares (The Laws of the People)
- Las libertades populares (The Freedom of the People)
- La confianza popular (The Trust of the People)
- El consentimiento popular (The Consent of the People)
- El conocimiento popular (The Knowledge of the People)
In the majority of situations these political thoughts, outlandishly radical for a western democracy, would have been dismissed as the ranting of a lunatic or the ludicrous views of an isolated political dreamer. However, in the bars and workplaces of Seville, Marcos was a well known and extremely popular figure, with his charisma, friendliness and wit affording him a large amount of influence over the working class of the city. Using this to his advantage, he handed pamphlets filled with the details of AD to the people he knew, whilst actively discussing with people the pros and cons of the system. Despite the idea’s risqué ideals and the danger of harbouring adversarial political views under the censorship and oppression of Franco, some people came round to the idea, although the vast majority dismissed it as nonsense akin to communism or were too scared to even consider the idea.
And even amongst those that wholeheartedly agreed with Marcos’ thoughts, most were unwilling to give any real support to the cause beyond words of encouragement, hardly useful to AD’s bid to become the dominant force in post-war Spain. However, there were some whose contempt of Franco and the willingness to accept the seven commandments meant that they were happy to actively help the cause. Marcos, hesitant of Franco’s secret police and the unthinkable consequences of anti-Falange activism, took a long time narrowing the interested group of people down into those that would be useful and trustworthy, taking every possible precaution that a meeting could be arranged without the worst case scenario coming to pass; a discovery of the underground movement by Franco’s intelligence network.
Eventually he decided on a time and meeting place for a gathering of about 60 AD supporters. It would happen on the 21st January, 1948 in the basement of the Giralda Bar, Seville, were they would come together to discuss their ideals and possible ways of toppling Franco’s regime. The first meeting didn’t achieve anything material; the opinions and methods of action were vague and seemingly unrealistic, but it did succeed in creating an excitement amongst the men, who were beginning to truly believe in AD, and also in enticing more people to attend who were previously too afraid to take a role in AD, leading to a slow but steady expansion of the movement. The foundations of an AD Spain were shaky and seemingly short lived, but they remained nonetheless and would one day expand beyond the realistic intentions of any of the men in that bar that fateful evening in the mild winter of Seville.
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