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Ancient and modern

Should a Good Citizen snitch on neighbours?

26 September 2020

9:00 AM

26 September 2020

9:00 AM

If neighbours break whatever new Covid rules might soon emerge, it has been suggested that the Good Citizen might snitch on them to the authorities. Though not perhaps our cup of tea, it was certainly the ancient Greeks’. The Athenian lawgiver Solon (594 bc) was responsible.

In the absence of a police force or a state prosecutor, Solon put the responsibility for bringing criminals to justice into the hands of citizens.

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