wouldn't call it a democracy at all. James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution" and its principal author, chose to call it a republic. His belief was that individuals had to be protected from the majority, which is precisely why the U.S. is not a direct democracy. The U.S. and China are both republics, but that doesn't mean they're the same, obviously. China is a single party communist republic, the United States is a two party representative republic. About as similar as a chihuahua and a pit bull. Sure they're both dogs, but the comparison doesn't make it far beyond that. Let's compare, with a random make believe example: 75% of people want the death penalty abolished, but 75% of government officials don't. In a direct democracy, the death penalty is immediately abolished. In China, the death penalty is never abolished. In the U.S., we wait until the next election and vote for the guy who wants it abolished. (Ignoring techincalities like district lines and the electoral college.) JR | 1.22.10 @ 11:35AM By the way, Ray. According to my dictionary, a republic is a form of government without a monarch (that's a king or queen) that is usually run by a president. The U.S. is much closer to that definition than China. Steve H | 10.12.09 @ 1:10PM Not only do Americans subsidize low cost pharma's in those countries that already have rationed medicine aka Obama Care/Single Payer Care......... Americans have been subsidizing the defence of those countries as