As a republic, we can vote for people to represent us on day to day issues. If America was a true democracy, then everyone would vote on the state and federal budget, and the names of Post Offices. So to try to achieve a better level of effectiveness and progress, we have a republic, where we elect representatives to go make decisions for us.
The downside to that is that politicians can lie to us or mislead us as to their views. They can also be bought off by special interests, drowning out the voices of the masses.
So, neither is a perfect system, but there you have it.
2007-09-06 01:11:38
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answer #1
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answered by bmattj121 4
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A centralized state is a concentration of power. As Lord Acton famously said 'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Even if the power of that centralized govt is split among branches and officials, the 100% of the power is still theirs. A Confederacy's weakness can best be seen in the Articles of Confederation. Don't focus on the South in the Civil war, it was a wartime govt. The independent bodies may choke off the centralized state because the interests of each independent piece may not align. The states acted as separate nations, choking off the economy with protectionism against other states and so forth. A federal republic as we have attempts to blend the two approaches, but it's weakness is that it is complciated and difficult to implement for young states. We made it work because we had the luxury of having come from a mature set of largely self-governing states acting under the colonial rule of England for a long time BEFORE we tried to set it up. UPDATE: I should note that the Federalist Papers are a GREAT resource if you are really interested in this topic. They really show how confederations throughout history were vulnerable to states having differing interests. Another example they gave was foreign powers preying on each nation individually. If a foreign power is threatening one and only one member state, the others may not want to risk a larger war, even if the confederation demands that they do so. Thus they are vulnerable to divide and conquer tactics.
2016-04-06 00:10:45
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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The advantages: it is a constitutional form of government that is supposed to be representive of the people, is democratic, and the head of state is not a monarch. The power is vested in the people.
The disadvantages: We often vote in representatives who do not truly represent the their constituents.
2007-09-06 01:18:40
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answer #3
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answered by Moody Red 6
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Advantages are law and order. Elected officials make laws that are designed to protect citizens.
Disadvantages: it is costly, time consuming and often contentious.
2007-09-06 01:06:43
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answer #4
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answered by regerugged 7
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