It's a Democratic Republic, the founding Fathers hated Democracy and so made it a Republic.
2006-11-03 09:53:19 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Cool. Seeing as the UK is an elective autocracy, maybe we should both have spread a bit of democracy at home before liberating the rest of the world?
2006-11-03 09:57:03 · answer #1 · answered by rosbif 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Actually, we're a liberal democracy...not a democratic republic.
"The term "Democratic Republic" has formed part of several states' official names.
Today it is largely meaningless, due to the fact that many "democratic republics" were not liberal democracies, as well as the fact that many republics that are democratic don't use the title of "democratic republic" in their official names.
Both present-day and defunct Democratic Republics have included countries that had little or nothing in common with each other. The reasons why countries call themselves Democratic Republics are also very different from case to case, but the common denominator seems to be that all these countries were created as a result of a revolution or war of independence against a domestic or foreign regime that was widely seen as tyrannical, oppressive and undemocratic. Thus the new country gave itself the title of "Democratic Republic" in order to reflect the idea that a dictatorial regime had been overthrown and a new, democratic one was put in its place.
This may be the reason why Democratic Republics tend to be either ex-colonies (Congo, Sri Lanka, Algeria, etc.) who achieved independence after breaking away from an imperialist power, or communist states that were created after the overthrow of a capitalist regime (since communists regard capitalism as inherently undemocratic). In particular, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) gave themselves the title of "Democratic Republics" as a way of implying that their rivals - West Germany, South Vietnam and South Korea - were not democratic.
While these communist states are widely regarded as being dictatorships themselves, their use of democratic rhetoric and the term "Democratic Republic" are often cited as proof that democracy forms an integral part of communist ideology, and that even a dictatorship must claim to be democratic if it wants to call itself communist."
2006-11-03 17:59:06 · answer #2 · answered by misskate12001 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You're using the term "democracy" to mean "true democracy" which is a very silly form of government. In a true democracy, EVERYONE votes on EVERYTHING. How can anything get done (See Monty Python & the Holy Grail)? It's true that the vast majority of Founders were skeptical of direct citizen participation in government, but even if they weren't there's no way to have pure democracy. The "republican" (i.e. representative) form of government, with democratically elected representatives, is the only workable form of democracy for societies of any size.
2006-11-03 17:57:08 · answer #3 · answered by Perdendosi 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, it's none of the above. It's a judicial oligarchy. With the Supreme Court deciding that:
It would be better to not count all of the ballots.
The voters of Colorado passed an amendment to their state constitution that serves no valid purpose.
That no legislature can be trusted to ban or to significantly regulate abortion.
There is no point in pretending that we are either a democracy or a republic.
2006-11-03 19:54:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
There are no pure Democracies. We live in a Republic. Always have. High School civics.
2006-11-03 18:06:28 · answer #5 · answered by jstokes1085 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Well I dont know that the founding fathers "HATED" democracy, but I think they were wise in realizing that a true and pure democracy just wouldnt work in a large scale nation. America is a nation of laws - not mob rule. With a tru democracy you end up with mob rules.
2006-11-03 17:57:17 · answer #6 · answered by rjfoster22 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Very good. You obviously did not attend a pubic school. Now, do you know why the founding Fathers did not allow the public to elect members of the Senate (each state legislature elected the Senators from their state)?
"... democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." --James Madison from Federalist #10
2006-11-03 17:57:48 · answer #7 · answered by Yak Rider 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I did know that. You seem like an eager fourth grader who found out something new at school today.
2006-11-03 18:10:08 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It has been a representative republic from the start. Where have yoiu been?
2006-11-03 17:55:34 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
I have heard other refer to it as more of an Oligarchy. Seems that way to me as well.
2006-11-03 17:56:22 · answer #10 · answered by Rich B 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋