Myth: The U.S. is not a democracy.
Fact: The U.S. is a representative democracy in every branch of government.
Summary
The U.S. is a democracy -- just not a direct one. Every
branch of our government -- executive, legislative, judicial,
monetary -- ultimately derives its power from majority rule or
approval. By making our democracy indirect instead of direct,
the Founders prevented unrestrained mob rule, allowing
a more reasonable pace of majority rule, and greater room for compromise.
Argument
Conservatives continually point out that America is not a
democracy, but a constitutional republic. This is a quibble over
definitions, because a constitutional republic is a type of democracy.
Democracy comes in two forms: direct and republican. In a direct
democracy, the people vote directly on proposed laws, and government
(to the extent that it exists) serves only to put their laws into action.
By contrast, a republic is a representative democracy, where laws are
passed not by the people, but their elected representatives. Adding the
term "constitutional" to the word "republic" is frivolous, since all
nations have constitutions.
Why, then, do conservatives insist on this distinction? There are
two reasons, both of them trivial. One is to embarrass those
who make casual use of the term "democracy."
Another is that conservatives are so hostile to democracy
that they seek to deny its very name.
But a democracy we are. No matter which branch of government you look
into, you'll find the fingerprints of democracy everywhere:
Congress: the people vote on their Senators and Representatives,
who then vote on their laws.
The White House: the people vote on a slate of electors,
who then vote for the president.
Supreme Court: nine justices vote on the constitutionality
of laws.
Supreme Court justices: an elected president nominates
a Supreme Court justice, who must pass a vote of confidence from
the people's elected Senators.
Constitutional amendments: the people's elected representatives
vote on the amendments, which must pass by a supermajority of
elected state legislatures.
Cabinet appointees: an elected president nominates cabinet
officials, who must pass a vote of confidence from the people's
elected Senators.
The Federal Reserve: a board of Federal Reserve governors
votes on monetary policy.
The Federal Reserve Board: an elected president nominates
members to the Federal Reserve Board, who must pass a vote of
confidence from the people's elected Senators.
Notice that a spectrum of democracy exists within these
examples. On the more direct end lies the House of Representatives,
which elects legislators from relatively small districts every two
years. On the more republican end lies the Senate, which elects
legislators from much larger states every six years. The extreme
in republicanism is the Supreme Court, where the people's representatives
elect justices to lifetime tenure.
Also notice that there is no
such thing as a 100 percent direct democracy, since voters would be
overwhelmed with the requirements of voting on the nuts and bolts of every
government operation. Inevitably, democracy requires some
degree of delegated authority. Still, the Founders feared more direct
forms of democracy, since they believed -- with historical justification --
that they increased the volitility of mob rule, reduced the chances of
compromise, allowed more uninformed legislation to pass, and
were usually short-lived. Thus, they insisted
on a more republican form of government. However, they also knew the danger of going
too far in the opposite direction. Too republican, and representatives become
impervious to the will of the people. The challenge in designing a democracy
is to find the right balance between direct democracy and republicanism.
Ultimately, all democracies -- including republics -- operate at the consent of the majority.
By making our democracy more indirect than direct, the Founders did not stop
majority rule; they merely
slowed it down somewhat. We could fine tune our position on this spectrum either
way, of course, but we would have to go miles in the direction
of republicanism before we were no longer a democracy.
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