As philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis underlines, the equality among citizens of Ancient Athens was not based on the granting of equal passive ‘rights’, but active general participation in public affairs.
The project of direct democracy, of which reason and rational deliberation are an inseparable part, has to be made appealing and desirable for a growing amount of people.
Excellent text by Cornelius Castoriadis from 1959 examining the problem with working class organisations which have turned against their creators and pointing out the lessons for future organising efforts.