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So for us, pure democracy is nothing but mob rule. A pure republic is nothing but elitist rule.
Klassified
reply to post by Kali74
No. A constitutional republic is a constitutional republic.
Kali74
reply to post by Klassified
But it does practice democracy. Holding elections is democratic.
Kali74
reply to post by stumason
It is a nasty, nasty habit in which language is destroyed. We seem to define words by how a person or persons that through their actions distorted a word rather than being able to say this person uses this word incorrectly.
However, there does seem to be a prevailing (see latest poster...) thought here that a Republic is distinct from a Democracy because they have representatives, whereas a Democracy doesn't because it is "mob rule".
If that is true, then there is not a single democratic state in the world. Every country has a form of Parliament/Congress, even the Swiss with their famous "direct democracy" system, which would make every country a "Republican" form of Government. But this clearly not true.
I think the confusion, as you have rightly pointed out, stems from the ancient use of the terms as opposed to the modern usage. Oddly, the US seems to want to use the 2,500 year old definitions as opposed to the modern ones, but then you all get mixed up which only confuses the matter.
This whole topic could be put to bed if you made the distinction that one is a form of Government while the other is the method by which it is chosen, as per the current definitions of the words.
The Six Nations
The people of the Six Nations, also known by the French term, Iroquois Confederacy, call themselves the Hau de no sau nee (ho dee noe sho nee) or People of the Longhouse. Located in the northeastern region of North America, originally the Six Nations were five and included the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. The sixth nation, the Tuscaroras, migrated into Iroquois country in the early eighteenth century. Together these peoples comprise the oldest living participatory democracy on earth. Their story, and governance truly based on the consent of the governed, contains a great deal of life-promoting intelligence for those of us not familiar with this area of American history. The original United States representative democracy, fashioned by such central authors as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, drew much inspiration from this confederacy of nations. In our present day, we can benefit immensely, in our quest to establish a new a government truly dedicated to all life's liberty and happiness much as has been practiced by the Six Nations for over 800 hundred years.
How insane is it that you guys are sitting hear debating over the exact literary meaning of these rather then analysing them from the perspective of the people who used them at the time they were used for the reason they were used.