[OT] Are we a democracy or a republic?

[Andy Bradford]

Thus said Kenneth Burgener on Thu, 01 Sep 2005 22:45:30 MDT:

> I have  been hearing  a lot about  how we are  happy to  see democracy
> developing in  Iraq [1].  This lead  me to  think about  us. Are  we a
> democracy or a republic? Are we both?

The government  of the  United States  of America  was established  as a
Republic. A  republic is  based upon  the rule by  laws. A  democracy is
based upon mob rule (aka majority rule).

Kind of  makes you  wonder why  the media and  other similar  forums are
preaching Democracy in Iraq, doesn't it...

> This particular site [5]  seems to be on a quest to  inform us that we
> are indeed a republic, and not a democracy.

That would be a quest based in  truth. There are plenty of good reads on
the  founding of  our nation,  including the  Federalist Papers  and the
Anti-Federalist Papers.

> Just thought  I would send this  off topic question out  into the air,
> along  with  the other  fun  off  topic  questions going  around,  and
> possibly help my wife with her American History homework. :-)

She may  need to turn to  other textbooks. The textbooks  they use these
days are drab  and full of only  the least amount of  detail required to
learn the subject.

Other good  reads for  your wife  could be  ``Democracy in  America'' by
Alexis de Tocqueville  and ``Conceived in Liberty''  by Murray Rothbard.
Also a very  good read is ``The Politically Incorrect  Guide to American
History'' by Thomas E. Woods Jr.

Andy
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