The 2016 election cycle in the United States has been one of the most bitter and divisive in recent memory. Both of the candidates—Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) and Donald J. Trump (R)—are regarded as so thoroughly unlikeable in every way that many people are outright refusing to vote for either of them. If you decide not to vote in this election, though, you are an idiot. I do not necessarily mean you are unintelligent or even ignorant for that matter; I merely mean that you are an idiot.
You see, the word idiot is etymologically derived from the Attic Greek word ἰδιώτης (idiṓtēs), which literally means “a private person,” or “a person who does not take part in the affairs of the polis.” It is derived from the word ἴδιος (ídios), meaning “of one’s own,” which is also the root of our English word idiosyncratic. The word ἰδιώτης originally had no bearing whatsoever on how intelligent the person it was being used to refer to was. It merely indicated that the person did not take part in public affairs.
Although the word ἰδιώτης was not originally a pejorative, it quickly acquired derogatory connotations. The polis, or “city-state,” was the fundamental structure of all Greek society. It was so essential that, in his treatise Politics, the Greek philosopher Aristotle (lived 384–322 BC) actually defined a human being as a ζῷον πoλιτικόν (zdōon politikón), which literally means an “animal in a polis.” A citizen who abstained from involvement in the polis, therefore, was putting himself at a profound disadvantage.
The ancient Athenians also recognized that a democratic society can only survive as long as its members continue to participate in it. As soon as citizens begin to neglect their civic duties, democracy slowly begins to collapse into ruin and decadence. Thus, to the ancient Athenians, nothing could be more reckless and irresponsible than neglecting one’s civic duties.
In ancient Athens, taking part in the Assembly meeting was mandatory and any adult, male citizen who did not attend the Assembly was liable to be fined. To ensure that everyone in the city attended the meeting, publicly-owned slaves would be sent out while the Assembly was gathered, armed with ropes that had been dipped in red paint. Their duty was to find any citizen who was not at the Assembly meeting and mark him using the rope. Afterwards, anyone caught with red paint on his clothes would be fined for having skipped out on the meeting.
In later times, the word ἰδιώτης passed on into Latin as idiota. In Latin, the word acquired strongly derisive connotations and became synonymous with “ignorant person.” Eventually, the word passed from Latin into French as idiote and from French into Middle English as idiot. It was in Middle English that the word finally fully acquired the meaning it has today.
Today few people are aware of the original, political meaning of the word idiot. Likewise, voters are no longer forced to vote against their will. Nonetheless, even though you will probably not be fined for refusing to vote, you should still vote anyways because it is your civic duty and democracy can only survive as long as the public continues to participate in it. In many countries around the world, democracy is declining because people simply do not care enough to protect it. The greatest threats to the integrity of the United States Constitution are laziness and ignorance.
The ancient Athenian philosopher Plato (lived 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) wrote in The Republic 1, 347c, “τῆς δὲ ζημίας μεγίστη τὸ ὑπὸ πονηροτέρου ἄρχεσθαι, ἐὰν μὴ αὐτὸς ἐθέλῃ ἄρχειν,” which is Ancient Greek for: “But the greatest penalty is to be ruled under an evil person, if one does not take initiative in politics.” Basically, Plato is saying that, if you do not take political initiative and vote, the punishment is to be ruled by those you least wish to be ruled by. Keep these words in mind when you decide whether or not to go out and vote tomorrow.
Very well written, interesting, and apropos.
Very interesting. So how does this relate to the prefix “idio-” meaning “individual,” as in “idiosyncracy” and “idiolect”?
I understand that it means “apart from”, “separate”, which can mean “differing”, “standing apart [in its qualities]” or “special”, as well as simply “standalone”, “of one’s own”.
Favorite article so far! I think that we should do this to people that don’t vote.
I am not quite so sure that doing this today would be such a good idea. People might become upset over having red paint on their clothes… It certainly would make Election Day more interesting, though!
we can’t say we weren’t warned.
Indeed. I think that this is just one example of a way in which the classics are still relevant today. There were things that some people in ancient Greece realized 2,400 years ago that many people today still do not see. One of these things was the importance of public participation in the political process. When people do not pay attention to politics and do not vote in elections, the results of those elections less accurately reflect the will of the people.
The piece rightly points out how awful both of the US presidential candidates were. When you have a system which is dominated by a handful of political parties, or even worse just two, then these do not reflect the will of the people. The noticeable thing about American politics is not what the two parties differ on, but the similarities in style, campaigning etc. When you have a two party system, it is easier to buy them off and offer the illusion of choice. Elon Musk, by the way, donates to both wings of the Republicrats.
The sense of “idiot” didn’t develop this way, and it certainly didn’t mean “a person who does not take part in the affairs of the polis.” It simply meant “a private citizen” as opposed to an official. Pericles was an ordinary member of the Assembly — an idiotes — when he made some of his
speeches.
It came to mean a layman in general, and later an ignorant person, and *much* later, an intellectually disabled person. But it was not a pejorative in Aristotle’s time, and it was not pejorative about political participation.
See the relevant section in the Wikipedia article for a fully footnoted discussion. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot#Etymology)
I thank you so much for sharing this post. I spend a great deal of time walking barefoot in the mountains. In order to figure out the meaning of the words I carry around and the word “idiot” I have heard a great deal. Showing up bare foot, buckskins, large silver beard, and a strong grip and grin.
After reading the origins you shared of the word idiot. I was filled with satisfaction. Because my feet lead me into searching for the deeper meaning. I am seventy now and every time I would hear a derogatory word. I have learned that if I plant my grip and grin square in the middle of the derogatory. I find a deeper meaning and it is a good meaning. One I like living with. I am a proud bare sole, grin gripping, singing and dancing Idiot! and I screwed up, did not vote in the last election, trusted neither. But for this election I will be putting on my moccasins and voting against the younger meaning of he word idiot, which I use in a derogatory way. Thank you again, you have made an impact of my thinking.
Mick Dodger
Legend Of Mick Dodge
National Geographic Channel
Well written but implies that people who don’t vote are lazy. As you get older you may start to learn that not everyone in the US has fair or equal access to voting and registration.