The use of democracy and republic interchangeably is innocently erroneous because there exist major differences. This makes the constitutional republic vs democracy debate a very crucial platform for clarifying issues. The rights of citizens in republics are safeguarded and cannot be taken away by the government. On the other hand, democracies disregard the rights of minority.
The rights of individual citizens and powers of governments differentiate democracies from republics. It is an uncontested fact that the majority rule in both cases. However, it is the extent of power and relationship with minority that differentiates the two. Both systems allow citizens to determine their representatives into the government.
Absolute power is held by the government in democracies. They determine the rights that will be accorded to individuals and can change the constitution to suit their wishes. This leaves the minority in the country vulnerable until a certain point where they form the government as the majority or join the majority group in a coalition.
Republics have constitutions or charters that protect the certain rights from alteration or abuse. These rights are inalienable which means that the government of the day cannot violate them. This is one fundamental difference between the two systems of government. Pure democracies give free will to the reigning government which means over exposure of the minority.
The majority is omnipotent in democracies which allows them to exercise absolute power at the expense of minority. This bully attitude continues until the situation changes in favor of minority. Republics have restrictions aimed at restricting the oppressive tendencies of majority governments. The process of altering inalienable rights is constitutionally defined and must involve the masses.
Constitutions and charters guarantee sovereignty in different formats depending on whether a nation is a democracy or a republic. In democracies, the entire population holds sovereignty as a group. This paves way for the majority to determine the extent of rights. This system of governance traces its origin to Classical Athens.
The system used by republics is different because sovereignty belongs to the individual. These rights are safeguarded and cannot be tampered with even by a majority government. This system first emerged in Classical Rome and has three characteristic arms of government. It is the system used in USA.
Democracies are either direct or representative. An individual is given the mandate by the larger population to represent their interests in an electorate body in cases of representative democracies. This means that the representative is considered as the voice of masses. This representative votes on issues with his voice and opinion being considered to be that of his electorates.
Direct democracies operate in a different way. Each individual has a say in decision making on issues. This means that the masses make laws and determine government policies directly. A perfect example of this way of doing things is by voting or participating in referendums.
The rule of law that governs USA makes it a republic. There is a constitution or written law that governs representatives who must swear to abide by it. Most countries have democratic republics with certain segments of governance falling in different categories alternatively. The rights of individuals are protected yet the majority government has power over minority, though there are limits.
The rights of individual citizens and powers of governments differentiate democracies from republics. It is an uncontested fact that the majority rule in both cases. However, it is the extent of power and relationship with minority that differentiates the two. Both systems allow citizens to determine their representatives into the government.
Absolute power is held by the government in democracies. They determine the rights that will be accorded to individuals and can change the constitution to suit their wishes. This leaves the minority in the country vulnerable until a certain point where they form the government as the majority or join the majority group in a coalition.
Republics have constitutions or charters that protect the certain rights from alteration or abuse. These rights are inalienable which means that the government of the day cannot violate them. This is one fundamental difference between the two systems of government. Pure democracies give free will to the reigning government which means over exposure of the minority.
The majority is omnipotent in democracies which allows them to exercise absolute power at the expense of minority. This bully attitude continues until the situation changes in favor of minority. Republics have restrictions aimed at restricting the oppressive tendencies of majority governments. The process of altering inalienable rights is constitutionally defined and must involve the masses.
Constitutions and charters guarantee sovereignty in different formats depending on whether a nation is a democracy or a republic. In democracies, the entire population holds sovereignty as a group. This paves way for the majority to determine the extent of rights. This system of governance traces its origin to Classical Athens.
The system used by republics is different because sovereignty belongs to the individual. These rights are safeguarded and cannot be tampered with even by a majority government. This system first emerged in Classical Rome and has three characteristic arms of government. It is the system used in USA.
Democracies are either direct or representative. An individual is given the mandate by the larger population to represent their interests in an electorate body in cases of representative democracies. This means that the representative is considered as the voice of masses. This representative votes on issues with his voice and opinion being considered to be that of his electorates.
Direct democracies operate in a different way. Each individual has a say in decision making on issues. This means that the masses make laws and determine government policies directly. A perfect example of this way of doing things is by voting or participating in referendums.
The rule of law that governs USA makes it a republic. There is a constitution or written law that governs representatives who must swear to abide by it. Most countries have democratic republics with certain segments of governance falling in different categories alternatively. The rights of individuals are protected yet the majority government has power over minority, though there are limits.
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