Ancient Sparta and the People's Republic of China. Separated by two millennia and as many continents, these two civilizations could not represent a clearer contrast. Both have experienced their fair share of media recently, with Spartan culture appearing on the big screen and the People's Republic of China attracting media attention for its censorship and shady government practices. In this short book I am writing, we will compare important aspects of the political system in both societies, first in ancient Sparta, then in the People's Republic of China. I will also briefly delve into the social classes of these societies, as they are important to understanding the political system. Sparta, also less commonly known as Lacedaemon, was an oligarchic city-state in Ancient Greece. It was located on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, which is still part of Greece today. It was born around the 11th century BC, following the invasion of the Dorians, on the four main Greek tribes. Sparta is perhaps best known for its military strength, which can be attributed to the legendary lawgiver Lycurgus, who created the Spartan constitution in 650 BC. Not much is known about Sparta's internal development, and it was widely believed by many Greeks that the Spartan constitution was remained unchanged since its creation. According to tradition, the Spartans were forbidden to keep historical documents, literature, or written laws. As a result, Spartan traditions and laws were passed down orally from generation to generation, so little was known about them. What we know about the Spartans comes from historians of the time and was considered primitive by Greek standards. The Spartan government was a hodgepodge of a monarch… middle of paper… In America, they do not have equal duties and, as a result, a balance of power is not created. The National Government The People's Congress holds the greatest amount of power in modern China. To date it is made up of approximately 3,000 delegates, each elected for a 5-year term. About 70% of the currently elected delegates are members of the Chinese Communist Party. Delegates are not elected directly by the population, but rather by other provincial representatives, who are in turn elected by lower level representatives, and so on, often reaching 5 or more levels of representatives before actually being directly elected by the population. Unlike the United States, China does not allow an unlimited number of candidates per seat. The NPC only allows 110 candidates per 100 seats, although at lower levels of government there is no limit on the number of candidates.