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I don't get why people confuse Democracy with Constitutional Republic. The first is run by "mob rule" where personal rights can be swept away with the popular

I don't get why people confuse Democracy with Constitutional Republic. The first is run by "mob rule" where personal rights can be swept away with the popular sentiment. The second (which is what the United States has) is where the Constitution protects personal rights despite popular sentiment.

qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago
With two children in the school system now, teachers are not doing their job well. Observing first hand.
marcosdumay 7y ago
Wait, what? The first is a philosophical principle that says that a government must serve the governed people, the second is an actual form of government that tries to implement the first.
- buboard 7y ago
  Where do you get those definitions?
  - marcosdumay 7y ago
    How about the dictionary? > n. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives. > n. A political or social unit that has such a government. > n. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power. But better, where outside of some ancient history book did you ever see somebody use that word describing exclusively a government like the one in ancient Greece? (Not to say that republic comes from the exact same concepts, just in a different language.)
    - buboard 7y ago
      - these definitions are not the same as the one you stated previously. - All these 3 definitions of democracy may apply to a democracy that uses allotment instead of elections. - You are correct that modern usage of democracy is restricted to "election based majority government". - Republic is a wholly separate, orthogonal concept. Pre-empire Rome was a republic, not a democracy.
      - marcosdumay 7y ago
        > these definitions are not the same as the one you stated previously. "Government by the people" vs "The common people, considered as the primary source of political power" vs. "government must serve the governed people". Oh, I see, I have used different words! > All these 3 definitions of democracy may apply to a democracy that uses allotment instead of elections. Where did I say it doesn't apply? > You are correct that modern usage of democracy is restricted to "election based majority government". Wait, what? I didn't say that, and it is not correct.
Kalium 7y ago
Generally because someone was failed by a civics lesson that was excessively dogmatic in its definitions. This can lead to strange situations, where compatible descriptors are mis-parsed into mutually exclusive claims. The United States is a Symmetric Federalist Constitutional Representative Democratic Republic.
xenocyon 7y ago
The terms are not mutually exclusive: * You can be both a democracy and a constitutional republic (India, USA) * You can be a democracy but not a republic (UK) * You can be a constitutional republic but not a democracy (China) * You can be neither a republic nor a democracy (monarchies through history)

qrbLPHiKpiux 7y ago

With two children in the school system now, teachers are not doing their job well. Observing first hand.

marcosdumay 7y ago

Wait, what? The first is a philosophical principle that says that a government must serve the governed people, the second is an actual form of government that tries to implement the first.

buboard 7y ago
Where do you get those definitions?
- marcosdumay 7y ago
  How about the dictionary? > n. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives. > n. A political or social unit that has such a government. > n. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power. But better, where outside of some ancient history book did you ever see somebody use that word describing exclusively a government like the one in ancient Greece? (Not to say that republic comes from the exact same concepts, just in a different language.)
  - buboard 7y ago
    - these definitions are not the same as the one you stated previously. - All these 3 definitions of democracy may apply to a democracy that uses allotment instead of elections. - You are correct that modern usage of democracy is restricted to "election based majority government". - Republic is a wholly separate, orthogonal concept. Pre-empire Rome was a republic, not a democracy.
    - marcosdumay 7y ago
      > these definitions are not the same as the one you stated previously. "Government by the people" vs "The common people, considered as the primary source of political power" vs. "government must serve the governed people". Oh, I see, I have used different words! > All these 3 definitions of democracy may apply to a democracy that uses allotment instead of elections. Where did I say it doesn't apply? > You are correct that modern usage of democracy is restricted to "election based majority government". Wait, what? I didn't say that, and it is not correct.

Kalium 7y ago

Generally because someone was failed by a civics lesson that was excessively dogmatic in its definitions. This can lead to strange situations, where compatible descriptors are mis-parsed into mutually exclusive claims. The United States is a Symmetric Federalist Constitutional Representative Democratic Republic.

xenocyon 7y ago

The terms are not mutually exclusive: * You can be both a democracy and a constitutional republic (India, USA) * You can be a democracy but not a republic (UK) * You can be a constitutional republic but not a democracy (China) * You can be neither a republic nor a democracy (monarchies through history)