2007-12-27 10:45:31 · 9 answers · asked by crazynise08 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
Republicanism is better than pure democracy.
2007-12-27 12:56:18 · answer #1 · answered by FRAGINAL, JTM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The United States is a democratic republic. Our federal government is based on representative democracy and not direct democracy. If we had direct democracy, the people would have to vote on every single issue. For obvious reasons that would be impossible. So we elect Representatives who we believe can make decisions with our best interests in mind. In many state governments however, there is a mixed system of representative and direct democracy.
2007-12-27 19:11:41 · answer #2 · answered by DaveB 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A Republic is of the people, by the people and for the people... while a Democracy is a government of the people by a small group of people.
2007-12-27 18:53:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because they understood history.
The founders were well educated men. They knew the history of the Athenian Democracy and how and why it colapsed. They knew the history of the Roman Republic, and how and why it colapsed. They also made a study of the Republic of Vencie and how and why it had survived for so long.
One of the things they knew, from history, was that Democracies don't work well over the long term. Lets face it, most people are stupid. They don't understand the issues facing their country, and push come to shove they don't WANT to understand the issues. They are more intersted in Paris Hilton's sex life than they are in economics, or middle east politics, or the advantages of a progressive tax system over a regressive tax system.
This is why they come out and rally and scream against "evil oil companies" that want to drill in that godforsaken chunk of frozen tundra called ANWAR... they protest and pettition and fight against drilling off the California and Florida Coasts, they will form lynch mobs with torches and pitchforks if someone suggest building a nuclear power plant...and then complain that gas is $3 a gallon, scream that they can't afford to buy heating oil, wonder why do we have to buy all our oil from Arabs, why California has power blackouts in the summer..and blame it all on Mexican migrants.
They can't name their Congressman or Senator, but they know the life history of every actor on LOST. They are more exicted about Obama because Oprah likes him than because they know anything about how he stands on issues, and they pay more attention to how Hillary does her hair and if she is wearing a pants suit than what she will do to the economy with her tax policy.
This is why the television news spends more time coveirng OJ and Brittany, and Brittany's pregnant younger sister than they do the insecurity of Pakistans nuclear warheads, the tv people studied their audience and discovered that their audience is STUPID, so they make stupid news for stupid people.
The founders understood this. Rather than let people vote on issues directly, the founders set up Congress, so that the people could elect other (hopefuly smarter) people who WOULD care about things like tax policy and demographic impications for social security and energy policy and THEY could go off to Washington, make good decisions, and then come back home and explain their choices.
That's why we have a Republic... to keep stupid people from making stupid choices and dooming the entire country.
2007-12-27 21:55:20 · answer #4 · answered by Larry R 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a true democracy, there would still be a Confederate States of America, and possibly even a world wide slave trade.
The majority of Americans wanted Lincoln to offer terms to the Confederacy, and less than a month later, the Union won the war.
The majority can make mistakes that the more learned politicians, which they hired to make tough decisions in the first place, are expected not to make, even when they find themselves up against very low popularity numbers for making those decisions.
2007-12-27 18:58:06 · answer #5 · answered by Victor S 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A Republic defends the rights of individuals with Constitutionally restricted elected leaders.
A Democracy is a lynch mob. (only one opposing vote and he gets hung, majority rules)
2007-12-27 19:35:19 · answer #6 · answered by MP US Army 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because democracy placed too much power in the hands of the uneducated masses
2013-12-03 17:35:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A republic is a democracy. Republic is from Latin for "(government) of the people". Democracy is Greek for "people rule". They are synonymous.
2007-12-27 18:52:47 · answer #8 · answered by Snow Globe 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Our founding fathers wanted to avoid majority tyranny. And they were right to do so.
2007-12-27 18:49:35 · answer #9 · answered by Pancakes 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋