[ronimacarroni]

I know that they had a direct democracy, but how exactly did it work?
Did they have businesses like they do now and tax them in order to fund public projects?

[Potemkin]

how did ancient Greece work?

Slavery.

I know that they had a direct democracy, but how exactly did it work?

Each adult male free citizen participated in public debates and voted in all important decisions. In fact, they were obliged to do so.

Did they have businesses like they do now and tax them in order to fund public projects?

Small businesses existed, but most (free) people were farmers, along with some artisans and merchants. But most public works were relatively cheap. See above re: slavery.

[ronimacarroni]

oh...
Well we have the internet now so direct democracy would be less time consuming wouldn't it...

[Dagoth Ur]

And massively cumbersome. Democracy on a grand scale is only possible through representation (with the constant option for immediate recall).

[ronimacarroni]

And massively cumbersome. Democracy on a grand scale is only possible through representation (with the constant option for immediate recall).

Well Dagoth Ur what I find cumbersome is voting for a politicians that get paid by lobbyist and votes nay instead of yay on bills that s/he said would vote yay on.

[Dagoth Ur]

That's bureaucracy not representation.

[mikema63]

Greece operated with a series of politically separate city-states.

[Rich]

Slavery.

Yes even with modern technology there's no substitute for slaves if you really want freedom. I guess employing illegal immigrants is the next best thing.

[pugsville]

one key mechanism was the appointment of officials by lot (random) drawing out of name, generally rather than elected.

[Potemkin]

Yes even with modern technology there's no substitute for slaves if you really want freedom. I guess employing illegal immigrants is the next best thing.

Slavery - keeping the world safe for democracy since 550 BC.

[Someone5]

I know that they had a direct democracy, but how exactly did it work?

Athens briefly flirted with a highly qualified direct democracy--basically almost no one qualified to vote. It didn't last very long. As for the practical matter of how things got done... yeah, basically just slavery.

Did they have businesses like they do now

Not precisely. I mean, there were organizations that traded goods and services for money, but the ownership of it worked differently and they didn't really operate like a modern business.

and tax them in order to fund public projects?

Yes.

[Someone5]

And massively cumbersome. Democracy on a grand scale is only possible through representation (with the constant option for immediate recall).

Or with ubiquitous computer networks, which at least allows for the possibility of a wide scale direct democracy. I mean, it's not like most matters would actually require a vote--the day to day business of organizations are an administrative not a legislative matter. The courts and bureaucracy handle the vast majority of actual decision-making anyway.