My life my fortune and my sacred honor

[Chris]

We keep going through this because someone starts the discussion without defining precisely what he means by the ambiguous word, democracy.

In the following comparison, besides the difference between direct and representational, I see a key difference where a republic is limited by law, a constitution. As in "The United States of America is a constitutional democratic republic."






Link: https://www.diffen.com/difference/Democracy_vs_Republic

[carolina73]

What do you call a form of government in which the power is held by representatives elected by the people? I call it democracy.

The states are Representative Democracies. The country is a Republic.
Add the word "Constitutional" Republic to that.

We have a set a rules that are difficult to change.

[Ethereal]

In defense of democracy

The united States are a federation.

That's why it's called a federal government.

[Ethereal]

What do you call a form of government in which the power is held by representatives elected by the people? I call it democracy.

Except there is no "the people". That's a fiction. America has always been a collection of peoples, not one people, which is why the united States are supposed to be a federation.

[Ethereal]

Some folks may have become cynical about the ability of their representative to represent them under our system of Solon votes for sale.
My representative is pramila jaypal. While she take some money from big donors her vote does not seem to be unduly affected by them. I am very happy with my representation in Congress.
Democracy!

Well, bless your heart.

[Ethereal]

We've been through this multiple times. "America is a Republic, Not a Democracy" is a bumper sticker that ignores the plain definition of "democracy". The same individuals keep popping up, saying "But we're not a democracy", when what they mean is that we're not a direct or absolute democracy - which no one has ever claimed we were. On one occasion, I went and found quotes from U.S. Presidents and other public figures, from the Founders to DJT, referring to the U.S. as a "democracy". I'm not doing that again, but they're out there.

You're both wrong. It's neither a republic nor a democracy. It's a federation. That's why Madison and company called themselves "federalists". And why they called it a "federal" government. It's why we have a tenth amendment.

Democracies and republics are consolidated forms of government that only work at a relatively small scale. Ireland, for example.

[Tahuyaman]

We are no longer a republic. We lost it. We are a klepto-oligarchy.

Lol.

[Ethereal]

We have a republic. Sometimes called a representative democracy. A pure democracy has no representatives. Citizens vote on everything. Our founders feared that type of government.

That would depend somewhat on which founder you asked. Or how you asked them.

[Tahuyaman]

You're both wrong. It's neither a republic nor a democracy. It's a federation. That's why Madison and company called themselves "federalists". And why they called it a "federal" government. It's why we have a tenth amendment.

Democracies and republics are consolidated forms of government that only work at a relatively small scale. Ireland, for example.

This is the same guy who says the USA is neither a nation or a country.

[Ethereal]

I agree, but I also think it is important for young people to be educated in the differences between a "republic" and a "direct" or "pure" democracy. A great way to do that is to use the US as an example of a "representative democracy" and ancient Athens as an example of a "pure" or "direct" democracy. I actually most often refer to that for of government as an "Athenian Democracy".

What's even more important to understand is that the States did not merge into a single sovereignty simply by entering into a political "union". It's also important to remember that a union is only legitimate insofar as it is voluntary. Otherwise, it's less like a "union" and more like "bondage".