5 ms·

Short answer: yes. We are a democratic republic but most people think of us as a direct democracy. At some point, we may decide to change how we vote for presid

Short answer: yes. We are a democratic republic but most people think of us as a direct democracy. At some point, we may decide to change how we vote for president. Thus, it is worth knowing what the majority actually voted for. No, it can't change the past, but yes, it can change the future.

vslira 10y ago
> Short answer: yes. We are a democratic republic but most people think of us as a direct democracy. Can someone point me out as why Americans differentiate republic from direct democracy? I reckon than in most of the world these words don't mean opposites. Republic means just "not a monarchy/aristocracy" where I live, and I reckon in most of the world. (This is a genuine question, maybe there is a reason for the American usage of the term)
- x1798DE 10y ago
  Generally it's called a republic if there is representative government, i.e. if you have a senate or a congress. Presumably by direct democracy people mean voting directly on issues, in which case I'm not sure there's any state of a significant size implementing that particular form of government.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > Generally it's called a republic if there is representative government No, if there's an elected representative government, it's generally a representative democracy. Even when (as in the case of the UK) it's also a Constitutional monarchy, and so not a republic of any kind.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> We are a democratic republic but most people think of us as a direct democracy. A direct democracy is one where voters vote directly on issues rather than representatives who make decisions on issues; basically no one thinks the US is like this, though many individual states in the US incorporate some degree of direct democracy via initiative and referendum. I think it would be more accurate than your formulation to say "We are a federal republic with a very loose approximation of representative democracy, but most people think we are, or at least should be, a representative democracy (which would still be a federal republic, but also a democratic republic.)"

vslira 10y ago

> Short answer: yes. We are a democratic republic but most people think of us as a direct democracy. Can someone point me out as why Americans differentiate republic from direct democracy? I reckon than in most of the world these words don't mean opposites. Republic means just "not a monarchy/aristocracy" where I live, and I reckon in most of the world. (This is a genuine question, maybe there is a reason for the American usage of the term)

x1798DE 10y ago
Generally it's called a republic if there is representative government, i.e. if you have a senate or a congress. Presumably by direct democracy people mean voting directly on issues, in which case I'm not sure there's any state of a significant size implementing that particular form of government.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > Generally it's called a republic if there is representative government No, if there's an elected representative government, it's generally a representative democracy. Even when (as in the case of the UK) it's also a Constitutional monarchy, and so not a republic of any kind.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> We are a democratic republic but most people think of us as a direct democracy. A direct democracy is one where voters vote directly on issues rather than representatives who make decisions on issues; basically no one thinks the US is like this, though many individual states in the US incorporate some degree of direct democracy via initiative and referendum. I think it would be more accurate than your formulation to say "We are a federal republic with a very loose approximation of representative democracy, but most people think we are, or at least should be, a representative democracy (which would still be a federal republic, but also a democratic republic.)"