Republic or Democracy?

Republic

"a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them."

or

Democracy

"government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.



Which would you prefer and why?

how about a pot smoking republic run democracy man.

the widowman said:

how about a pot smoking republic run democracy man.

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sounds good to me

chuckbane said:

Republic

"a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them."

or

Democracy

"government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.



Which would you prefer and why?

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No surprise that you left some stuff out. Post the links Jester.

VTXDave said:

No surprise that you left some stuff out. Post the links Jester.

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all from dictionary.com

easy cowboy

chuckbane said:

all from dictionary.com

easy cowboy

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Well, the fundamental difference between a Democracy and a Republic is that a Democracy is based upon the tenets of "majority rules" whereas a Republic is based upon the tenets of "Freedom of the Individual" and that the "majority" is bound to "Rule of Law".

PUBLIUS! PUBLIUS!

A representative form of government protects the minority from the majority.

A Democracy is mob rule.

Vi

democracy is essentially mob rule with a smiley face painted on the cover. while an enlightened population may be able to govern itself in such a way, the capacity for hysteria and prejudice to exert undue influence leaves minority opinion open to attack and leaves it no recourse.

a republic depends on the integrity of its representatives and their ability to understand and obey the will of the people. it is extremely vulnerable to corruption and the consolidation of power leaves it easy prey to those who would gain power over others for their own ends.

isn't it pretty much a pick yer poison sorta thang? where a democracy is well suited to small communities of like minded people, a republic is more easily adapted to larger, more disparate populations. neither is proof against the baser instincts of mankind.

ViRedd said:

A Democracy is mob rule.

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damn, i hit the can before posting and found you had taken the words right out of my mouth.

undertheice said:

democracy is essentially mob rule with a smiley face painted on the cover. while an enlightened population may be able to govern itself in such a way, the capacity for hysteria and prejudice to exert undue influence leaves minority opinion open to attack and leaves it no recourse.

a republic depends on the integrity of its representatives and their ability to understand and obey the will of the people. it is extremely vulnerable to corruption and the consolidation of power leaves it easy prey to those who would gain power over others for their own ends.

isn't it pretty much a pick yer poison sorta thang? where a democracy is well suited to small communities of like minded people, a republic is more easily adapted to larger, more disparate populations. neither is proof against the baser instincts of mankind.

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An excellent example of this is the 700,000,000,000 bailout. Calls into our "representative's" offices were about 75% against.

Vi

Federal Democratic Republic - The United States, Combining the worst of both systems, the corruption at the top and the stupidity at the bottom, and the oligarchial system of Feudalism renamed Federalism.

ViRedd said:

A Democracy is mob rule.

Vi

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haha no doubt you would say something like that.

Mob
"The mass of common people; the populace."

you and your scare tactics Vi, dirty pictures of aborted fetuses and dirty scary words like "terror", "slavery", and "mob". You are a GREAT representation of your country,, hope you are proud

its funny how no one answered my question.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER AND WHY?

personally i think both systems have massive flaws but a republic is much too easily corrupted by the rich and by whoever is "in charge". It takes the power away from regular folk and puts it in the hands of greedy, underhanded, corrupted, rich fools...
like Bush.

a republic has no monarch as head of state. but a democracy can.