This quote by Madison seems to be the whole source of the pedantry, because it's an affliction which only seems to afflict Americans. Since the US is neither th

This quote by Madison seems to be the whole source of the pedantry, because it's an affliction which only seems to afflict Americans. Since the US is neither the source nor the subject of this report, it's particularly irrelevant. Most of us are happy to say "direct democracy" or "Athenian democracy" if that's what we mean. On the other hand, a popularly-elected dictatorship would be justified in calling itself a republic. It's useful to have a term which includes direct and representative democracies, while excluding dictatorships, and "democracy" is the commonly accepted term.