American democracy is
really a republic. Democracy
is government by and for the people. They may or may not be republics--that is,
government limited by constitution or charter.
The tricky part of "democracy" is defining "the people" and then deciding what counts as "by the people" and what counts as "for the people." In a sense, that could be considered the content of democratic practice.
Citizens are expected to participate more actively in a direct democracy. Representative democracies are the common and "standard" type of governments found today, despite what many people (who may not know the definition of either) think.
In a true democracy, the majority has unlimited power over the minority. This system of government does not provide a legal safeguard of the rights of the individual and the minority. It has been referred to as "Majority over Man".
In a constitutional democracy, the majority is limited and constrained by a written constitution which protects the rights of the individual and the minority. The purpose of a Republic form of government is to control the majority and to protect the God-given, inalienable rights and liberty of the individual.
The United States of America is founded as a Republic under the Constitution. The US is a Republic with limited Democracy that exists mostly on the local level. In UK is a democratic country whereas India is a democratic republic.
In a direct democracy, every citizen votes directly on matters concerning the body politic.
A constitution forbids the representatives from voting on certain matters - such as not being able to vote freedom of speech away. A republic might have public participation but the final authority might be an individual leader. A democracy gives the power to select and remove a government to the general citizenry. A republic simply means a country where the Head of State is an elected politician. The United States is a democratic republic, a mix, the people vote on some laws and propositions while the congress and senate vote on others.
A republic refers to the rule of law in a country and the idea that all are subject to that law. A democracy refers to the rule of the people. It is possible that countries can have a rule of law but not power of the people, for example the former Communist countries or democracy and not rule of law as in ancient Athens, Greece. To prevent tyranny of the majority, modern democracies use supermajority rules, constitutional limits, or a Bill of Rights to limit the power of the majority. Personal rights are respected and cannot be taken away. This helps to avoid tyranny and mobocracy (the majority makes laws and governs by passion, prejudice, or impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences). A constitution is what prevents tyrannical majorities from taking away the rights of minorities. This is unrelated to the distinction between "republic" and "democracy". The United States, for instance, is a "constitutional representative democracy", or a "constitutional republic". Both are equivalent. It's the word "constitution" that prevents abuse of individual rights, not the word "republic".
The tricky part of "democracy" is defining "the people" and then deciding what counts as "by the people" and what counts as "for the people." In a sense, that could be considered the content of democratic practice.
Citizens are expected to participate more actively in a direct democracy. Representative democracies are the common and "standard" type of governments found today, despite what many people (who may not know the definition of either) think.
In a true democracy, the majority has unlimited power over the minority. This system of government does not provide a legal safeguard of the rights of the individual and the minority. It has been referred to as "Majority over Man".
In a constitutional democracy, the majority is limited and constrained by a written constitution which protects the rights of the individual and the minority. The purpose of a Republic form of government is to control the majority and to protect the God-given, inalienable rights and liberty of the individual.
The United States of America is founded as a Republic under the Constitution. The US is a Republic with limited Democracy that exists mostly on the local level. In UK is a democratic country whereas India is a democratic republic.
In a direct democracy, every citizen votes directly on matters concerning the body politic.
A constitution forbids the representatives from voting on certain matters - such as not being able to vote freedom of speech away. A republic might have public participation but the final authority might be an individual leader. A democracy gives the power to select and remove a government to the general citizenry. A republic simply means a country where the Head of State is an elected politician. The United States is a democratic republic, a mix, the people vote on some laws and propositions while the congress and senate vote on others.
A republic refers to the rule of law in a country and the idea that all are subject to that law. A democracy refers to the rule of the people. It is possible that countries can have a rule of law but not power of the people, for example the former Communist countries or democracy and not rule of law as in ancient Athens, Greece. To prevent tyranny of the majority, modern democracies use supermajority rules, constitutional limits, or a Bill of Rights to limit the power of the majority. Personal rights are respected and cannot be taken away. This helps to avoid tyranny and mobocracy (the majority makes laws and governs by passion, prejudice, or impulse, without restraint or regard to consequences). A constitution is what prevents tyrannical majorities from taking away the rights of minorities. This is unrelated to the distinction between "republic" and "democracy". The United States, for instance, is a "constitutional representative democracy", or a "constitutional republic". Both are equivalent. It's the word "constitution" that prevents abuse of individual rights, not the word "republic".
Proceedings
of the Natural Law Institute 47-81 (1950).
Pennsylvania
Bar Association Quarterly 261-284 (April, 1948)
Presidential
Power and the Constitution 157-176
American
Constitutional History: Essays by Edward S. Corwin 216-229
(1964)
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