re: #14 windsagio

The problem is its not an absolute black/white thing.

The Athenians still had slaves, but they were still a billion times better than the Spartans were.

Internally, they were. Externally, the dynamism of Athens made them worse than Sparta in some ways, as witness their transformation of the Delian League into an effective Athenian Empire. That having been said, a Spartan helot was doomed to be a serf for life, and if he seemed too smart or capable the Spartans would have him killed secretly. In Athens, a slave of great capability would often be out to work at a less menial job and would sometimes have the chance to be freed. Within their respective social orders, life was better in Athens for all strata of society. Sparta had strength of arms, but little else.

But even so, one would still rather have the disciplined 300 march through your territory (if you were non-hostile to them) than a OWS rabble. Unless they are hostile to you, a disciplined bunch of assholes will still do less damage than an undisciplined bunch of decent people.