Is the USA a democracy?

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

Whenever there's a discussion about the inherent undemocratic character of the Electoral College, some Republican users, to whose advantage the idiocy of that body redounds, usually intervene and claim that the USA wasn't a democracy, but a republic.
What do you think about that thesis?
I expect that the preponderance of experts would make the arguments from those posters fall flat.

[WritOfCertiorari]

Err... you are a German. Your country also uses an electoral college to elect your President.

But as for the question, of course. We are a constitutional democratic republic, the best form of government yet engineered.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

Err... you are a German. Your country also uses an electoral college to elect your President.

Unfortunately, you're right, and ours is even less democratic than yours as we can't even elect half of our electors. (The other half are the Bundestag members, which we do elected, but during the federal elections we don't know the presidential candidates yet.)

But as for the question, of course. We are a constitutional democratic republic, the best form of government yet engineered.

Correct answer! ✓

[Karpatsky]

Yes, though far from perfect.

[ηєω ƒяσηтιєя]

But as for the question, of course. We are a constitutional democratic republic, the best form of government yet engineered.

Yes, though far from perfect.

[Consciously Unconscious]

But as for the question, of course. We are a constitutional democratic republic, the best form of government yet engineered.

[MarkD]

There are dozens of Supreme Court decisions that collectively convince me we are a judicial oligarchy.

[UncleSam]

There are dozens of Supreme Court decisions that collectively convince me we are a judicial oligarchy.

[💥💥 brandon bro (he/him/his)]

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1006410195830837248

[AtorBoltox]

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1006410195830837248

It's not technically true at all. Being a republic and a democracy are not mutually exclusive

[KingSweden]

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1006410195830837248

It's not technically true at all. Being a republic and a democracy are not mutually exclusive

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1006549973738164224

Agree with Matt Y.

Also:

Yes, though far from perfect.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

How come so many people believe that nonsense?

[Helsinkian]

Madison did argue in The Federalist No. 14 that republics were better than democracies but one has to understand that the term democracy at that time meant something else than it does now; back then it meant direct democracy, as practiced in ancient Athens. What Madison called a republic would nowadays be recognized as a representative democracy. Terms change in their meaning. That might be the source of confusion.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed14.asp

[Yellowhammer]

There are dozens of Supreme Court decisions that collectively convince me we are a judicial oligarchy.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

Madison did argue in The Federalist No. 14 that republics were better than democracies but one has to understand that the term democracy at that time meant something else than it does now; back then it meant direct democracy, as practiced in ancient Athens. What Madison called a republic would nowadays be recognized as a representative democracy. Terms change in their meaning. That might be the source of confusion.

Interesting background knowledge that I wasn't aware of.
Maybe that's what the right-wing conspiracy theorists mean when they maintain that America isn't a democracy, but a republic.

[Dr. MB]

It's both: a democratic republic. Anyone who argues over this stuff has way too much time on their hands.

[The Mikado]

How do you use republic? In the modern sense, it basically means "a state without a monarchy," which includes the United States, France, Brazil, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt, and Russia, to name a few. Meanwhile, non-republican monarchical states include the UK, Sweden, Thailand, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Swaziland, to name a few. Republic or not a republic is a totally useless distinction, for the most part.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

How do you use republic? In the modern sense, it basically means "a state without a monarchy," which includes the United States, France, Brazil, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt, and Russia, to name a few. Meanwhile, non-republican monarchical states include the UK, Sweden, Thailand, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Swaziland, to name a few. Republic or not a republic is a totally useless distinction, for the most part.

I see your point. Many people think a republic has to be more democratic than a monarchy by default.
Using the examples of Germany and the UK you can see that a monarchy can be way more democratic than a republic.
And what about the Vatican? Why is it considered an elective monarchy, and not a monarchic republic by political scientist? And under this circumstance, why isn't Germany considered an elective monarchy?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It depends on how you define "democracy". We're clearly not a pure democracy. Plus we have some restrictions on who can participate in the governing of our polis.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

It depends on how you define "democracy". We're clearly not a pure democracy. Plus we have some restrictions on who can participate in the governing of our polis.

But I hope you disagree with those who claim that the USA isn't a democracy, but a republic.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It depends on how you define "democracy". We're clearly not a pure democracy. Plus we have some restrictions on who can participate in the governing of our polis.

But I hope you disagree with those who claim that the USA isn't a democracy, but a republic.

Depends on how you define "democracy" . We're unambiguously a republic. The Constitution even requires the States to have a republican form of government. However, it's only politics that keeps us from returning to a plutocratic form of government with formal property requirements to vote and/or hold office. We still have some plutocratic elements in our mostly democratic republic.

[TPIG]

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1006410195830837248

False. A Republic, by its nature, is guided by a constitution, such as ours which protects the rights of individuals and minorities. Democracies have no such constitutional requirement, allowing them to trample on the rights of individuals and become tyrannical.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1006410195830837248

False. A Republic, by its nature, is guided by a constitution, such as ours which protects the rights of individuals and minorities. Democracies have no such constitutional requirement, allowing them to trample on the rights of individuals and become tyrannical.

Huch? I didn't know that Germany can't be a democracy since it has a constitution called Grundgesetz...

[TPIG]

https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1006410195830837248

False. A Republic, by its nature, is guided by a constitution, such as ours which protects the rights of individuals and minorities. Democracies have no such constitutional requirement, allowing them to trample on the rights of individuals and become tyrannical.

Huch? I didn't know that Germany can't be a democracy since it has a constitution called Grundgesetz...

Germany certainly has a democratic system of elections, but surely you know that Germany is officially a federal republic.

[Anzeigenhauptmeister]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Germany is both a parliamentary democracy and a federal republic.