Key Takeaways
Is the United States ademocracyor a republic ? The solvent is that the U.S. is both a democracy and a republic .
Thedemocracy vs. republicdebates can get middling intense , but the fact is that the U.S. is n’t a " sodding majority rule " in which every conclusion is put to a popular vote . But today , scholarly person use the terms " commonwealth " and " republic " interchangeably to mean any governance where the world power roost with the people , whether the masses or their elected representatives exercise said power .
We speak with Del Dickson , a political science professor at the University of San Diego and author of " The People ’s Government : An Introduction to Democracy , " to learn more about the first democracies and republic , and how the framers of the United States Constitution debated how best to keep the " spirit " of majority rule while avoiding the risk of " mob ruler . "
So What Should We Call the United States?
It ’s equally fair to call the U.S. a " democratic country , " a " inbuilt democracy , " a " democratic republic , " or to getreally technical , a " constitutional Union representative majority rule . "
While the United States was the first innovative democracy , the world is now full of democratic and republican government of various flavors : presidential republics , parliamentary commonwealth , constitutional monarchies and more . Each type of democracy has its advantages and disadvantage , but they all share establish principles like free and fair election , guaranteed human rights and the rule of jurisprudence .
Democracy vs. Republic: It All Started with the Greeks and Romans
The English word of honor " democracy " comes from the Greekdemokratia , signify " the masses " ( demos ) have " the power " ( kratos ) . The ancient Greek city - land of Athens is consider the mankind ’s first and only " pure " democracy , establishedin 507 B.C.E.
" Democracy intend the people rule and the Athenians took that very literally , " Dickson says . " There were no representatives and they did n’t care experts . When there was an issue , everyone would pucker in gathering , and they ’d discuss and decide . "
But even in the Athenian majority rule , there were terminus ad quem . Only male Athenian citizens were eligible citizen — not cleaning lady , foreigners or enslaved people . While a 5,000 - man assembly orekklesiadecided on some issues via a popular voting , theboule — made up of 500 extremity who bring in a seat through a random lottery called a " sortition " — did the twenty-four hours - to - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. governing . While not elected , member of the boulle functioned as illustration of their local tribes .
Our Book " democracy " comes from the Latinres publica , which literally means " public thing " but is commonly translate as " commonwealth " or " state . " The earliest republic was in ancient Rome around the same time as the Athenian republic , and Dickson says that in the classical earthly concern , democracy and democracy intend the same thing : a politics run by the masses .
In the former Romanist commonwealth , only the wealthiest citizen ( the aristocratical social class ) could defend seats in the Senate , the harness assembly , but over time there were extra governing bodies produce for the plebeians ( the commoners ) and other class of Roman citizens .
Dickson says that the Romanic republican administration produce more and more representative until Rome became an imperium , at which point dictators like Julius Caesar appropriate power and the republic fall . " The Roman republic worked on a small scale , but the political organisation could n’t keep up when it lucubrate to become an empire , " Dickson says .
The U.S. Founding Fathers on Direct Democracy
Fast forward to the 18th hundred , whenFounding FatherslikeAlexander Hamilton , James Madison , John AdamsandThomas Jeffersondebated the ideal human body of government for the fledgling United States . These men were well - educate in the ancient histories of Athens and Rome and revolutionize by Enlightenment political philosopher like Montesquieu , Rousseau and Locke .
" Most of the framers of the Constitution jazz the Holy Writ ' democracy ' and ' commonwealth , ' but they did n’t wish the meaning , " Dickson says . " They were pretty suspect of direct democracy because multitude are passionate and selfish , and if you ’re not in the majority , you ’re in big trouble . "
John Adams voiced some of the strong opposition to get average people make important political decisions . Adams believed there take to be " adults in the room , " Dickson enounce , who were intimately prepare and better qualified than the " nifty plebeian . "
To the framer of the Constitution , " democracy " and " republic " soon became synonymous with " representative democracy , " in which the masses exercised political world power through elected representative .
On the Union degree , though , theConstitutionoriginally only permit direct election of the House of Representatives . senator were not elected but charge by state legislatures until 1913 with the passing of the17th Amendment . And the chairwoman was — and still is — elect by the electoral college , not by a democratic vote .
Elements of direct majority rule persist , though , in state ballot referendums and initiatives , which pass through a bulk pop voting . And even the old - shoal Athenian melodic theme of the drawing lots outlast in the modern American system ofjury obligation , in which citizens indiscriminately serve on a jury .
Different Types of Democracies and Republics
The U.S. Constitution intended to create a balance of world power acrossthree branches of government activity : the legislative ( Congress ) , the juridical ( the court system ) and the administrator ( the president , frailty president and cabinet ) .
That division of power came from , in part , the parliamentary model that existed in the United Kingdom in the 18th one C when the founder drafted the Constitution . The U.K. was n’t a majority rule at the time , but in addition to a monarch butterfly ( king or queen ) , it had a powerfulParliament(legislative fabrication ) pen of representatives at least nominally elected by the nobility .
" The U.K. split power into the one ( the monarch ) , the few ( the House of Lords ) and the many ( the House of Commons ) , " Dickson says . " The U.S. lead that and modify it . "
or else of a monarch as the main administrator , the U.S. has a president . And instead of a House of Lords and House of Commons , America has a Senate and House of Representatives . ( The U.K. did n’t have a Supreme Courtuntil 2009 . Until then , judicial power was held by Parliament . )
This American style of democracy is call the " presidential model , " since the president is the main executive director and is not elected at the same time as member of Congress . As the head of the executive subdivision , the president also practice sure powers , like the power to interdict flier that Congress passes , to constitute members to the Supreme Court , and to serve as commandant in boss of the armed services .
There are nearly80 democraciesin the world that follow the precise same presidential model as the United States , including Mexico , Brazil and the Philippines . An extra 23 country have both a President of the United States and a choice minister , with the president acting as the chief administrator . France , Russia and South Africa are object lesson of these " semi - presidential " commonwealth .
The second major type of modern democracy is the " parliamentary model , " in which the people do n’t vote straight for the chief executive . alternatively , they vote for the members of Parliament , and whichever political political party gain a absolute majority of seats in Parliament gets to pick out the chief administrator , who is call the quality minister . The quality minister is normally the header of the political company in power .
There are36 parliamentary republicsin the world , plus an additional 36 constitutional monarchies , where there ’s both a prime minister and a monarch , who acts as a nominal head with no real top executive . Ireland , Fiji and Bangladesh are examples of body politic whose politics infer from the parliamentary model . The modern U.K. is a constitutional monarchy .
One major deviation between presidential and parliamentary democracies is that parliamentary systems have few verification on power since the same company assure the executive and legislative branches . That mean there ’s by and large less gridlock in parliamentary politics , which is great for the political party in force , but less so for the nonage opposition .
" The presidential system is set up to move slowly , " Dickson articulate . " Nobody could just cram things through and overwhelm nonage rights . "
Whether it ’s a presidential or parliamentary system of rules , what make a modern democracy a on-key majority rule is faithful bond to a rigid ofdemocratic precept : the rule of law ( constitutionalism ) , representation based on free and fairish election , and guaranteed right , including freedom of speech , mechanical press and religion . By that measure , some countries are majority rule in name but not in practice .
Interestingly , citizens of both the U.S. and the U.K. are among 12 land wherethe majority of masses are dissatisfiedwith how democracy is working , consort to a 2019 Pew survey .
FAQs
Different types of democracy and republic have their own advantages and disadvantages . For case , parliamentary organization may have fewer impediment on tycoon , leading to less gridlock , but potentially risking nonage rightfield .
The U.S. Founding Fathers were suspicious of lineal democracy , trust that average people making important political determination could lead to issue . They preferred a representative democracy where elected representatives practice political power .
