在希腊早期的社会，尤其是在雅典的社会中，民主意味着在公共集会上做出了等同于永久城镇会议的结果。由于许多专业服务公司都重新发现，这种民主的观点往往会导致时间浪费很多时间，反应缓慢以及行动中极端的保守主义。
(In early Greek society, particularly in Athens, democracy meant the equivalent of a permanent town meeting-all decisions of consequence were made in public assembly. As many professional service firms have rediscovered, this view of democracy tends to result in much wasting of time, slowness of response, and extreme conservatism in action.)