The USA is a Democracy

1. Pro says he does not know where I got my definition of democracy from, so I will post the source. "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." vs. "A Republic, on the other hand, has a very different purpose and an entirely different form, or system, of government. Its purpose is to control The Majority strictly, as well as all others among the people, primarily to protect The Individual"s God-given, unalienable rights...The definition of a Republic is: a constitutionally limited government of the representative type, created by a written Constitution" [A]. Based on these descriptions, we can see that the United States falls under the category of a republic. Will does not deny that the US is a republic, but says that a republic is a FORM of democracy. Just because something is a form of something does not mean it is equivalent to that thing. So while democracies and republics do not contradict and they DO overlap, they are still different. They are two separate things that can still be compared, and that is what is up for debate. There are all types of democracies, and a republic is one of them, but they still have different characteristics and definitions. Consider fascism. Militarism is a form of fascism [B] and yet the two are separate ideologies that can be compared even though they are not opposites and are closely related to one another [C]. To illustrate some more differences between the two, "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) [D]. The USA is not ruled by the majority (mob rule) so does not solely qualify as a democracy. In a democracy, authority is derived through mass meeting or any other form of direct expression. But in the US, authority is derived through the election by the people of public officials best fitted to represent them. So we can see the US is not a democracy in this regard. "What distinguishes a republic is that it has an elected government. Representative democracies are, therefore, a kind of republic" [E] and not the other way around. Remember, the Constitution itself was partly a reaction against democracy. The founding fathers did not mean for the US to be a democracy just because it adopted democratic principles. 2. Pro says that just because US government is inefficient and corrupt, that it is still a democratic republic. But what something intends to be is not the same as what it actually is. I might intend to be an amazing baseball player, but if that is not how I am functioning, then I am not an amazing baseball player even if that is my intention or goal. While the US is supposed to embrace democratic principles, research shows policy is more influenced by the elite and special interest groups as opposed to voters [F] making democracy in this regard moot. CONCLUSION Even though a republic is a type of democracy, it is still not the same thing as democracy. Democracy and republic are defined differently. They can be compared, and the US qualifies more as a republic. Pro has to prove that the US actually functions as a democracy and not just that it "intends" to. [A] http://www.lexrex.com... [B] http://www.philosophybasics.com... [C] http://en.wikipedia.org... [D] http://www.c4cg.org... [E] http://www.williampmeyers.org... [F] http://www.commondreams.org...