See also: Politics | Poll | Democracy | Government
A political system based on voting for an elected president, usually belonging to a party.The distinction between a Republic and a Democracy is not an idle one. It has great legal significance.
In theory within a Republic, the sovereignty resides in the people themselves, whether one or many. In a Republic, one may act on his own or through his representatives as he or she chooses to solve a problem. Further, the people have no obligation to the government; instead, the government being hired by the people, is obliged to it’s owner, all the people.
United States of America
The United States Constitution guarantees to every state a Republican form of government (Article 4, Section 4). No state may join the United States unless it is a Republic. Our Republic is one dedicated to “liberty and justice for all.” Minority individual rights are the priority. The people have natural rights instead of civil rights. The people are protected by the Bill of Rights from the majority. One vote in a jury can stop all of the majority from depriving any one of the people of his rights; this would not be so if the United States were a democracy.
In a pure democratic election, 51% beats 49%. In a Democracy there is no such thing as a significant minority: there are no minority rights except civil rights (privileges) granted by a condescending majority. Only five of the U.S. Constitution’s first ten amendments apply to Citizens of the United States. Simply stated, a Democracy is a dictatorship of the majority. Socrates was executed by a democracy: though he harmed no one, the majority found him intolerable.
Actually, the United States is a mixture of the two systems of government (Republican under Common Law, and democratic under statutory law). The People enjoy their God-given natural rights in the Republic. In a democracy, the Citizens enjoy only government granted privileges (also known as civil rights).
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