In the U.S. we supposedly have a ‘Representative Democracy’, yet the ‘representatives’ that keep getting elected are more concerned with what the corporations that ‘lobby’ them want. I agree, the population does want to know who to blame, but like I said the people in charge (the rich) are cunning enough to let idiot politicians be the scapegoats. Even the politicians are rarely face any consequences. If they happen to represent a constituency that is actually paying attention, they might not get reelected, but that is the exception not the rule here.
Even in some cases where people pay attention, a lot of people have been brainwashed by centuries of propaganda that the mega-rich are good and healthy for a society, and that business interests are more important than human interest, so people commonly vote against their own best interest.
In theory this has advantages over a 'pure/direct’ Democracy- for example even if 51% of the people voted to ignore the bill of rights, that wouldn’t be legal. You would have to amend the constitution to achieve that- which is a lot harder to do than simply getting 51% of the popular vote. In a Direct democracy it would be easier for a majority group to disenfranchise a minority group.
If the US. was ran they way it’s supposed to be, we would be a democracy because the government exists to enact the will of the people.
The problem is that our representatives no longer represent us (if they ever really did), so that makes it decidedly less than democratic. That’s why I said we were ‘supposedly’ a Representative Democracy. We are in name only.
In the U.S. we supposedly have a ‘Representative Democracy’, yet the ‘representatives’ that keep getting elected are more concerned with what the corporations that ‘lobby’ them want. I agree, the population does want to know who to blame, but like I said the people in charge (the rich) are cunning enough to let idiot politicians be the scapegoats. Even the politicians are rarely face any consequences. If they happen to represent a constituency that is actually paying attention, they might not get reelected, but that is the exception not the rule here.
Even in some cases where people pay attention, a lot of people have been brainwashed by centuries of propaganda that the mega-rich are good and healthy for a society, and that business interests are more important than human interest, so people commonly vote against their own best interest.
US government is a democratic republic. In other words, a republic that incorporates some democratic concepts and procedures.
But it is not a democracy.
The U.S Government is a Democratic Republic, which is a type of Representative Democracy, which is a type of democracy.
In theory this has advantages over a 'pure/direct’ Democracy- for example even if 51% of the people voted to ignore the bill of rights, that wouldn’t be legal. You would have to amend the constitution to achieve that- which is a lot harder to do than simply getting 51% of the popular vote. In a Direct democracy it would be easier for a majority group to disenfranchise a minority group.
If the US. was ran they way it’s supposed to be, we would be a democracy because the government exists to enact the will of the people.
The problem is that our representatives no longer represent us (if they ever really did), so that makes it decidedly less than democratic. That’s why I said we were ‘supposedly’ a Representative Democracy. We are in name only.