On economics vs politics

Hannah Arendt observed that ancient Greek­ democratic thought regarded economics as housekeeping, a private matter­ segregated from the political sphere. Athens’ sexist, slaver economy enabled citizens to enter politics as relative equals, whose “prepolitical” basic needs were already met, whose democracy could stand aloof from self-interest and corruption. To be a free and trustworthy citizen meant being free from susceptibility to economics, someone trustworthy when contemplating public life. In the realm of the political, for Arendt, people become capable of acting in truly new, truly creative ways.