Republican and Democratic

After both of us endured talk from well-meaning and well-informed people about how our nation was a 'democracy,' Some people use the terms interchangeably, which is somewhat understandable. After all, they are both representative forms of government. 

These days, it is impossible for the majority not to answer, if asked the question, what sort of governmental system is the United States of America under. Indoctrinated by their schooling, the media and eventually casual conversation, the answer comes back, 'We are a democracy.' Actually, we are a federal republic.

So what are the differences between the two systems? Such a question can fill volumes. For the sake of expediency,  I came up with a little empirical lesson to tell the two systems apart.

Question: As this is a constitutional republic, how do you vote?

Answer: Well, I make sure to register to vote, research the issues, consider the candidates and issues presented, do they represent my views, my interests, my particular take on public life, etc., etc.. Thus, when I go to the polls, I am informed and convinced as much as possible of how I am going to vote.

Good, now how do you vote in a democracy.

Answer: Why, the same way of course, they're the same system.

Me, speaking in a shocked voice: Well that's selfish of you! Haven't you considered the views of your family, your area, your fellow members of such and such union? Didn't you take into account the history of your ethnic identity, how your ancestors would want you to vote, how your faith calls you to vote, how truly small-minded it is to think only of your position, your interests, your self!

The conversation I just laid out is reminiscent of friends and acquaintances of mine who have returned to their native societies, democracies decades old or years old. While they long ago gave up the right to vote there, wherever there is, nonetheless the straitjacket of tradition that once confined them to one particular segment of society, one particular world view, is there to give them its cloying embrace, even as they exit the plane.

The unique sense of autonomy and opportunity, the self-reliance and yes, necessary uncertainty that is truly unique here in America, is largely the product of a system of rule of law. That law in turn, is enunciated by a constitutional framework based on individual rights that are considered both inalienable and intrinsic to the human condition. When one votes in this country, in theory at least, one votes as a constituency of one.

Things are different in a democracy. The Greek word 'demos' is usually translated as people, but a more direct translation is group. In fact, ancient Athens was divided into 'demos' of Piraeus, or those of such and such district, much like old-style wards of American cities. 

Such a system counts 'individuals' not as themselves, but as members of particular identities. In fact, modern-day identity groups can be seen as democracy in its purest form. In such a system, power is still the primary fixation of society, much as in earlier autocratic systems.

The primary difference is that whereas such systems are run by a small elite or narrow power structure, power in a democracy is divided among social identities, each with their particular interests and causes. If something unites these groups, there is no more stable, efficiently functioning system. If not, or if interests start to clash, the central society is subverted, and eventually civic order may be lost entirely.

Here in America, we tend to see the traits of foreign democracies in both positive and negative lights. On one hand, we might see an annoying groupthink, positive in its sense of community and social belonging, negative in the behavior it enforces among its members, as anyone who has endured a European strike for example, can attest. On the other, we see other peoples much more informed and socially active than their counterparts in this country, without appreciating the sense of obligation, if not outright coercion, that can be exerted in such communities.

One thing should be clear however, whatever the pros or cons of a democracy, the United States is most certainly not one.