Are the people that think this country is a democracy the ones that are most disappointed in the government?

Question

I'm just wondering, because I think people sometimes forget that our country is NOT a democracy, as nice as that may sound.

Sorry I forgot, the US =)

Answer 1

Which country are you referring to? This is an international site.

OK, thanks! USA huh?

I was just reading a journal article about the push for democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq and how the different voting systems are having dramatic consequences (reinforcing division rather than promoting cooperation). I suppose any country which doesn't have individual autocracy (each person is their own democratic agent) is not a true democracy, and there are so many systems in the world which balance stability (like the UK's House of Lords and Constitutional Monarchy) with responsiveness (regular elections) which are not truly democratic, but benefit from having some unchanging elements. I think the USA fits this model quite well too, although I think the USA's concentration of power in the Presidency is less subject to checks and balances than other sorts of model.

Now after all that rambling, to (try to) answer your question. Yes, I think many idealistic folks in the USA who can't understand why their voices aren't being heard or respected are the ones who are most disillusioned with the administration. The polarization of opinion under this regime has been dramatic, so there are probably more disaffected people in the United States now than at any time since Vietnam.

Answer 2

Every country (and, despite its European Parliament, the EU too) has a "democratic deficit" -- a government to a greater or lesser extent nonresponsive to popular will. (That "will" may itself be defective, misguided by a cynical press or cynical politicians or "nationalistic myths", and this is how demagogues get away with turning democracies into fascist (or theocratic) states.) The problem is when the deficit is so great that the body politic have no real say in what is going on. Rousseau wrote about that with respect to the UK:
"The English people believes itself to be free; it is gravely mistaken; it is free only during election of members of parliament; as soon as the members are elected, the people is enslaved; it is nothing. In the brief moment of its freedom, the English people makes such a use of that freedom that it deserves to lose it."

In the UK members of Parliament have always been subject to party control, and at the demand of the party have (usually) voted according to instructions and not in accordance with the will of their electorate. (But then in the UK candidates for MP are not native to their constituences -- they are assigned by the party HQ to run in a particular place which may be a "safe" seat or not, depending how favored the candidate is by the party.)

In the USA, that sort of party discipline is new -- but with the increasingly harsh politicization in Washington, it's a fact of life.

So Rousseau's criticism has become true of America now too. And the result is that after the next election and the one after that, control in Washington -- at least in two of the pillars of government, executive and legislative, may well change.

Federal judges are, however, appointed for life. The righward trend of the judiciary will continue in our lifetime because the Republican Party stonewalled judicial confirmations during the Clinton administration, and Bush I, Reagan and Bush II appointed and had confirmed many, many knee-jerk right-wing judges (and only a few scholarly, disinterested types, none of those on the Supreme Court).

Answer 3

Hate to mention this but this country (USA) is actually a republic set up on the principles of democracy. Read your history, the constitution, oh should I mention the part of the Pledge that states "To the republic for which it stands"

Answer 4

I think you're right...people with the positions forget about the people who supported them during the election..and after we voted for them....they forgot what is the meaning of a "Public Servant"....as long as they can fill their stomach...ooppsss....forget about the people who are suffering....

Answer 5

people are wising up, im very disappointed in our government, and so is america, bush's approval rating is decreasing steadily. and i guess ur right about the US not being a total democracy. good question.

Answer 6

Might the fine 'ladies and gentlemen' posting here tonight be interested in some real information enlightenment...if so, click - if you will, on the following link...my brothers and sisters...http://www.freedomtofascism.com/

Answer 7

Depends on what country you're talking about.

Answer 8

nope,they're not those kind of people....they're the types who were drawn to believe on the wrong information..