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I have no idea what this means, but I'm also completely illiterate in US political theory. Is your point that republic implies strong federalism and democratic

I have no idea what this means, but I'm also completely illiterate in US political theory. Is your point that republic implies strong federalism and democratic does not?

jMyles 5y ago
> republic implies strong federalism and democratic does not This is, in essence, a substantial portion of what is asserted in The Federalist Papers, an 85-part series of letters and treatises written and distributed in 1788 by three proponents of adoption of the US Constitution.
- bildung 5y ago
  I see, thanks a lot. As far as I could read in the few minutes, the Federalists were opposed to identity theory, Rousseau's idea of direct democracy without political parties, whereas the Federalists were pluralists, like Kant and Aristoteles. IOW, this is not about the current meaning of democracy (as almost all current democracies are both pluralist and federalist, though of course to varying degrees).
betwixthewires 5y ago
I'm not who you're replying to but strictly speaking "republic" simply means a government based on rules, technically every democracy is a type of republic. But the US system is a republic very different from a democracy, with democratic institutions but also rules and institutions that cannot be changed democratically and many non democratic processes. To understand how the US government works it is very similar to the UK under Oliver Cromwell prior to the attempted creation of the third house, it was basically modeled after that period of UK government.
hackeraccount 5y ago
I think the OP is trying to get at the relationship between the constituent States the make up the United States and the Federal government. Personally I like the idea of devolving authority away from the Federal side and towards the States but honestly it's a giant rat hole that mixes power politics (something Americans do well enough with) and history (something that Americans do not do so well with). In any case more centralized or less centralized is the work of decades not years so I would hope no one is holding their breath in any direction.

I have no idea what this means, but I'm also completely illiterate in US political theory. Is your point that republic implies strong federalism and democratic does not?

jMyles 5y ago

> republic implies strong federalism and democratic does not This is, in essence, a substantial portion of what is asserted in The Federalist Papers, an 85-part series of letters and treatises written and distributed in 1788 by three proponents of adoption of the US Constitution.

bildung 5y ago
I see, thanks a lot. As far as I could read in the few minutes, the Federalists were opposed to identity theory, Rousseau's idea of direct democracy without political parties, whereas the Federalists were pluralists, like Kant and Aristoteles. IOW, this is not about the current meaning of democracy (as almost all current democracies are both pluralist and federalist, though of course to varying degrees).

betwixthewires 5y ago

I'm not who you're replying to but strictly speaking "republic" simply means a government based on rules, technically every democracy is a type of republic. But the US system is a republic very different from a democracy, with democratic institutions but also rules and institutions that cannot be changed democratically and many non democratic processes. To understand how the US government works it is very similar to the UK under Oliver Cromwell prior to the attempted creation of the third house, it was basically modeled after that period of UK government.

hackeraccount 5y ago

I think the OP is trying to get at the relationship between the constituent States the make up the United States and the Federal government. Personally I like the idea of devolving authority away from the Federal side and towards the States but honestly it's a giant rat hole that mixes power politics (something Americans do well enough with) and history (something that Americans do not do so well with). In any case more centralized or less centralized is the work of decades not years so I would hope no one is holding their breath in any direction.