"Democracy" or "Republic?"

Stick to the issues of voting and representation.
James E. White
Site Admin
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2024 12:17 pm

"Democracy" or "Republic?"

Unread post by James E. White »

A democracy is simply a form of government where people have a say in the government and laws through their votes. A republic is one where that say is through a layer of representatives voted into position to shape the government and laws on behalf of all the voters. The United States of America is actually a hybrid which can be more fully designated as a Constitutional Democratic Republic with a two-tiered (State and Federal) government each tier (generally) with three power/responsibility balanced branches (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial). "Constitutional" gets in there because the Constitution (necessarily and rightly) places limits on what the government and the designated representatives can do – particularly when it comes to treating all people as equals.

Minorities, such as White men, cannot be discriminated for or against simply based on their being White or male. Duly noted that it has not always been this way; Black men and all women whether they were minorities or not have not always been treated as equal and were not so treated in the Constitution when written. Even today those less than 18 do not have a say except through their parents or anyone they can convince to vote in their best interests and the rights of women are still not fully settled.

Winston Churchill once said that: "democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried." You should take a look around the world so you can quickly verify that for yourself. Beware that not all governments calling themselves a democracy are actually democracies. Putin's Russia even Putin calls a "managed democracy" meaning voters know who/what to vote for as do their representatives (that want to live). Winston considered the form of government of the United States to be a "democracy" even though not "purely" so.

There likely can be no perfect form of government and regardless of the form of government at least the politicians, representatives of the voters, government employees, and the rich will all strive to bend "the government" and the "power of the people" to their own ends. It will always be a requirement of the people to be vigilant and correct any bending of the government away from all the people that is done. It is nonetheless true that it is unrealistic to expect every act of government to equally benefit (or harm) every individual equally. Compromise must always be the order of the day. All people are not actually created equal nor have they come into equal chances but having the government by law siding against them without considered reason is a fundamental problem. There is good reason that Jefferson's "all men are created equal" was not embedded in the Constitution.

Alexander Hamilton put it very well in Federalist No. 15:
[T]here will be found a kind of eccentric tendency in the subordinate or inferior orbs, by the operation of which there will be a perpetual effort in each to fly off from the common centre. This tendency is not difficult to be accounted for. It has its origin in the love of power. Power controlled or abridged is almost always the rival and enemy of that power by which it is controlled or abridged. This simple proposition will teach us how little reason there is to expect, that the persons intrusted with the administration of the affairs of the particular members of a confederacy will at all times be ready, with perfect good-humor, and an unbiased regard to the public weal, to execute the resolutions or decrees of the general authority. The reverse of this results from the constitution of human nature.
Post Reply