| Follow me here.
.
Republic {epsilon} democracy
.
I.e. all republics are democracies but not all democracies are republics. A republic is a democracy because the people elect representatives that govern the nation (thus it is also sometimes called a representative democracy), which in theory gives the people the ultimate power. The other type of democracy is "direct," where every person represents himself or herself in matters of state, and the people have voting rights over issues and laws, rather than over representatives.
.
There is a rule of thumb that applies to democracies (including republics) that the shelf life of a democracy is 200 years, after which the people realize that they can elect candidates for the sole purpose of giving them money (I don't know who came up with it -- I learned it from my high school economics teacher). Then everything fails. What's scary is that some of the hottest issues in the US in the last 10 years have been taxes, government spending, Social Security, welfare, and the economy. Where's the red-haired bum with the "The End is Nigh" sign when you need him? |
