110. Read the following passage, then answer the question below.

The word democracy comes from the Greek demos, 'the people,' and kratos, 'power.' In Athens, around 508 BCE, reforms attributed to a statesman named Cleisthenes made this idea a working system. Unlike modern democracies, in which citizens elect representatives, Athens allowed its citizens to take part directly. Any adult male citizen could attend the Assembly, which met on a hillside several times a month to debate and vote on laws, wars, and treaties.

Day-to-day government was managed by a council of five hundred citizens, and the Athenians did not elect them. Members were chosen by lot, and no one could serve more than twice in a lifetime. Juries, too, were drawn by lot, and in the fifth century BCE jurors were paid so that poorer citizens could afford to serve. The reasoning behind these arrangements was that selecting officials by chance prevented a small group of wealthy men from controlling power, whereas elections, the Athenians believed, favored those with fame and money. Only a few posts, such as military generals, were filled by election, because they required real expertise.

It would be a mistake to view Athens as a model of equality. Women, enslaved people, and resident foreigners, who together formed the majority of the population, had no vote. Citizenship was inherited, not earned. Critics at the time, including the philosopher Plato, argued that ordinary citizens lacked the knowledge to rule wisely and that persuasive speakers could lead them astray. Athenian democracy was also fragile: it was overthrown twice in the late fifth century BCE, though it was soon restored. Even so, the experiment showed that a large community could govern itself through open debate, an idea that later societies adapted in very different forms.

The author's attitude toward Athenian democracy is best described as