Republic vs. Democracy

Rule by Law vs. Rule by Majority

Just after the completion and signing of the Constitution, in reply to a woman's inquiry as to the type of government the Founders had created, Benjamin Franklin said, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

Not only have we failed to keep it, most don't even know what it is.

A Republic is representative government ruled by law (the Constitution).   A democracy is direct government ruled by the majority (mob rule).   A Republic recognizes the inalienable rights of individuals while democracies are only concerned with group wants or needs (the public good). Lawmaking is a slow, deliberate process in our Constitutional Republic requiring approval from the House, Senate, Executive (President or Governor), The Supreme Court, and individual jurors (jury-nullification).   Lawmaking in our unlawful democracy occurs rapidly requiring approval from the whim of the majority as determined by polls and/or voter referendums.   Voter referendums allow legislators to blame bad law on the people.   A good example of democracy in action is a lynch mob.
Democracies always self-destruct when the non-productive majority realizes that it can vote itself handouts from the productive minority by electing the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury.   To maintain their power, these candidates must adopt an ever-increasing tax and spend policy to satisfy the ever-increasing desires of the majority.   As taxes increase, incentive to produce decreases, causing many of the once productive to drop out and join the non-productive.   When there are no longer enough producers to fund the legitimate functions of government and the socialist programs, the democracy will collapse, always to be followed by a Dictatorship.
Even though nearly every politician, teacher, journalist and citizen believes that our Founders created a democracy, it is absolutely not true.   The Founders knew full well the differences

An Important Distinction: Democracy versus Republic

It is important to keep in mind the difference between a Democracy and a Republic, as dissimilar forms of government. Understanding the difference is essential to comprehension of the fundamentals involved. It should be noted, in passing, that use of the word Democracy as meaning merely the popular type of government--that is, featuring genuinely free elections by the people periodically--is not helpful in discussing, as here, the difference between alternative and dissimilar forms of a popular government: a Democracy versus a Republic. This double meaning of Democracy--a popular-type government in general, as well as a specific form of popular government--needs to be made clear in any discussion, or writing, regarding this subject, for the sake of sound understanding.
These two forms of government: Democracy and Republic, are not only dissimilar but antithetical, reflecting the sharp contrast between (a) The Majority Unlimited, in a Democracy, lacking any legal safeguard of the rights of The Individual and The Minority, and (b) The Majority Limited, in a Republic under a written Constitution safeguarding the rights of The Individual and The Minority; as we shall now see.

A Democracy
The chief characteristic and distinguishing feature of a Democracy is: Rule by Omnipotent Majority. In a Democracy, The Individual, and any group of Individuals composing any Minority, have no protection against the unlimited power of The Majority. It is a case of Majority-over-Man.
This is true whether it be a Direct Democracy, or a Representative Democracy. In the direct type, applicable only to a small number of people as in the little city-states of ancient Greece, or in a New England town-meeting, all of the electorate assemble to debate and decide all government questions, and all decisions are reached by a majority vote (of at least half-plus-one). Decisions of The Majority in a New England town-meeting are, of course, subject to the Constitutions of the State and of the United States which protect The Individual’s rights; so, in this case, The Majority is not omnipotent and such a town-meeting is, therefore, not an example of a true Direct Democracy. Under a Representative Democracy like Britain’s parliamentary form of government, the people

Why America is a Republic, not a Democracy

Police attacks peaceful solidarity demo to Kostas Sakkas underneath the Acropolis

Oligarchy = Globalization = Distraction of Civilization

Η Δημοκρατία λείπει διακοπές...

του Τάσου Παπά

Η Δημοκρατία  έχει ορισμένους βασικούς κανόνες. Χωρίς αυτούς δεν μπορεί να λειτουργήσει, μετατρέπεται σ’ ένα άνευρο σύστημα διεκπεραίωσης, σε μια καρικατούρα αντιπροσώπευσης. Οι κυβερνήσεις και τα  κόμματα μιλούν συνεχώς για το λαό, ισχυρίζονται ότι δρουν εν ονόματι του λαού, δηλώνουν ότι εμπιστεύονται το λαό, αλλά οι κρίσιμες αποφάσεις λαμβάνονται ερήμην του λαού.

Οι πολιτικές ελίτ προτιμούν το λαό σε κατάσταση χυλώδους μάζας, να άγεται και να φέρεται από επιδέξιους δημαγωγούς και να χειραγωγείται από τους ιδεολογικούς μηχανισμούς του κράτους. Κι αυτό γιατί, αν οι μάζες αρχίσουν να διαβουλεύονται, να ενεργούν και να συνεισφέρουν, θα πάψουν να είναι μάζες, θα γίνουν πολίτες με άποψη, θα διεκδικήσουν ρόλο και θα αμφισβητήσουν αυτό που τους παρουσιάζεται ως τελεσίδικη κανονικότητα.

Οι σύγχρονες Δημοκρατίες έχουν μετεξελιχθεί σε φιλελεύθερες ολιγαρχίες. Ισχυρές ομάδες

Χωρίς Λόγια

Ποιες είναι οι διαφορές δημοκρατίας και δικτατορίας;

ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΗ ΑΝΑΔΡΟΜΗ ΣΤΗΝ "ΑΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΗ" ΤΗΣ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑΣ