create your own

Democracy or Republic, What is the Difference?

72
rate or flag this page

By Marye Audet


Image: Morguefile.com
Image: Morguefile.com

The Republic of the United States

Often, in a political argument the phrase, "We live in a democracy!" is used. For those people living in the United States of America this is a grave misconception which it an irritant to many people.

Not only can this deception cause misunderstanding of the way the political system works, it can cause serious misinterpretation of the law.

Let's consider the words of the Pledge of Allegience, something all school schilden used to know. It contains the words, "...and to the Republic, for which it stands". The United States is, and always has been a republic.


What is the Difference?

A democracy and a republic differ in a major way.

In a democracy the country is ruled by the majority. For the sake of example we can say that the senate, and the house of representatives are a democracy, in that it takes a two thirds majority vote to pass any bill.

However, in a republic the people use the democratic voting process to vote in a person to represent them, either their state, or their district, or whatever. This representative can vote any way he or she wants to, he is not bound to do what the majority of his constituents want him to. During an election, the people are not voting for the president. They are, instead, voting for the representative that will ultimately vote for the president. This is why a candidate can win an election by the popular vote and still not win the election.

The benefit of the republic model of government is simple. Majority rules can get ugly. Large groups of people can be deceived, and fall into mass hysteria based on emotions. In a republic small groups of people can not be discriminated against because they fall into disfavor with a larger, more powerful group.

In a democracy the majority can vote against a minority and win, in a republic it cannot. Consider what could have happened during the 1960s if the United States had been a true democracy. With majority rule, the white majority could have voted slavery back into popular use, had they wanted to, and some of them did. With majority rule, women would not have gotten the vote.,

Laws in a republic are held in place by reason, and thought. They are not arbitrarily produced by the whim of a majority of people. In a democracy the weak are at the mercy of the strong, it is a governmental system of bullying.


image:morguefile.com
image:morguefile.com

Will it always work the way it should? No. There will be times when people slip between the cracks. It is, however it is a good system, and it is a system that has worked well for over two hundred years. The founding fathers of the United States set up a document, called the Constitution which was set into place to give the government the authority to protect the rights of the individual. These rights are the same rights that we are so easily giving away in our modern, enlightened society.

Knowing the difference between a democracy and a republic will help society to understand the political system better, and make decisions based on that knowledge rather than on emotionalism.


Comments

RSS for comments on this Hub

Blogger Mom profile image

Blogger Mom  says:
2 years ago

Marye, very well explained! I will be sure to speak correctly in the future (I always thought of the US as a democracy). Great hub!

rmr profile image

rmr  says:
2 years ago

Thank you for concisely addressing one of my pet peeves. Too often do we hear politicians, who should know better, refer to America as a democracy. As far as I can tell, democracy is a polite way of saying mob rule. We are (and always have been) a constitutionally limited republic, just as the framers of our constitution intended.

Beth Barany profile image

Beth Barany  says:
13 months ago

Marye, Excellent hub! I too carried the misconception that we are a democracy and carried that to its conclusion, not a pretty one, that the majority rules. Thank you for calling our attention to the fact that we are a republic and what that means. I wonder if our politicians understand what a republic is. As I remember in school, I learned that we live in a representative democracy. I guess that's the same as saying we're a republic. What do you think? I also wrote a hub about democracy. I think it means that we citizens have a responsibity to educate ourselves. Thanks for helping us do that.

Iconoclast profile image

Iconoclast  says:
9 months ago

For clarification, Beth's school instruction about a representative democracy approximately equating to being a republic, I must say that a representative democracy, unlike a representative republic does not automatically create separation of powers, or, more colloquially, branches of government. The early Roman Republic had only the Senate, while the late Republic also had the plebian assemblies. Many have called the representative republic, our American model, the most successful form of government, but history indicates otherwise. No republic form has ever lasted three centuries, while monarchies and other hereditary forms, including empires, have tended to greater longevity.

Marye Audet profile image

Marye Audet  says:
9 months ago

I think at this point it is all moot anyway..we seem to be on a strong socialist course.

A Texan profile image

A Texan  says:
4 months ago

This is a good Hub, I do not know how anyone could have ever thought we were a democracy, its scary to know there are so many ignorant (and because of their ignorance)dangerous people in this Country! I guess I should have known after the 2000 election when a lot of people were confused about the "Electoral College" I hope a lot more people read this and gain some knowledge from it.

Submit a Comment

Members and Guests

Sign in or sign up and post using a hubpages account.


optional


  • No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked
  • Comments are not for promoting your hubs or other sites

working