I know I am going to get beaten up by flag-wavers for saying this but a Democracy simply cannot exist and function in today's world. The reason why is simple; there is a larger class of "have-nots" that with their vote and numbers, can take what you have worked for without your permission. It's sort of like being in a life-boat at sea with 10 other people and one can of water. doesn't matter if it is your can of water, if they want it, they can take it by sheer numbers. You can imagine the collective look in their eyes when they realize this and proceed to vote your ass over-board without your can of water. My point is that our society has become too diverse with a class of people that do not know how to take care of themselves but they still have an equal say in government and they out-number those of us that would build for ourselves. There are more of them and your stuff is on the ballot. Democracy and its new and improved "Republic" ony worked when the majority of people had an interest in insuring their common survival.
This is true. A system that only requires an individual vote from each citizen to be tallied and considered is not feasible with the shear size of our society. Thus the Electoral College was enacted - except it's been corrupted from its intent of representing the common vote as a reduced-to-viability number. The College can be 'bought' or courted by candidates and Big Business concerns just as easily as anybody else - their collective vote is widely sought after by candidates and Concerns as a short-cut to the Office of Choice. If the Electoral College were redeemed to its original intent - that of tallying the majority individual votes and translating that to the representative vote(s) from the states, the system would work.
Sea I'm not going to try and beat you up over it, because I have that can of water and agree. Its turning into what they have wanted for years, socialism. The only way to change that IMHO is a good cleansing what ever that may be.
Is it getting time to cinch up your life preserver; take your can, and bail out over the side? Democracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Magna_Carta.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/Magna_Carta.jpg/200px-Magna_Carta.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/0/02/Magna_Carta.jpg/200px-Magna_Carta.jpg he "Majority rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" is often described as a characteristic feature of democracy, but without responsible government it is possible for the Minority rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to be abused by the "Tyranny of the majority - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". An essential process in representative democracies are competitive Election - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="image"><img alt="Question book-new.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png, that are fair both substa... I "believed a "republic" was supposed to prevent that( overrunning by the many) and protect the rights and property of the one against the many;but wiki doesn't confirm that...( hmmm...what other of my firmly held ideas are completely wrong?) Republic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Roman_Empire.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Roman_Empire.jpg/200px-Roman_Empire.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@en/thumb/e/e2/Roman_Empire.jpg/200px-Roman_Empire.jpg A republic is a State - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/Fileisambig_gray.svg" class="image"><img alt="Disambig gray.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Disambig_gray.svg/30px-Disambig_gray.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/5/5f/Disambig_gray.svg/30px-Disambig_gray.svg.png or Country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Europe_topography_map.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Europe_topography_map.png/220px-Europe_topography_map.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/b/b7/Europe_topography_map.png/220px-Europe_topography_map.png that is not led by a hereditary Monarch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Str%C3%B6hl-Regentenkronen-Fig._03.png" class="image" title="Imperial Russian Crown"><img alt="Imperial Russian Crown" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Str%C3%B6hl-Regentenkronen-Fig._03.png/100px-Str%C3%B6hl-Regentenkronen-Fig._03.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/5/57/Str%C3%B6hl-Regentenkronen-Fig._03.png/100px-Str%C3%B6hl-Regentenkronen-Fig._03.png,<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference">[1]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-Machiavelli_1-0" class="reference">[2]</sup> but in which the people (or at least a part of its people)<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">[3]</sup> have impact on its government.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference">[4]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference">[5]</sup> The word originates from the Latin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Rome_Colosseum_inscription_2.jpg" class="image"><img alt="Alt text" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Rome_Colosseum_inscription_2.jpg/200px-Rome_Colosseum_inscription_2.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/b/b7/Rome_Colosseum_inscription_2.jpg/200px-Rome_Colosseum_inscription_2.jpg term Res publica - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which literally translates as "public thing" or "public matter". The organization of republics can vary widely. The first section of this article gives an overview of the characteristics that distinguish different types of republics. The second section of the article gives some short profiles of the most influential republics by way of illustration. A more comprehensive List of republics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia appears in a separate article. The third section is about how republics are approached as state organizations in Political science - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Santi_di_Tito_-_Niccolo_Machiavelli%27s_portrait_headcrop.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Santi_di_Tito_-_Niccolo_Machiavelli%27s_portrait_headcrop.jpg/220px-Santi_di_Tito_-_Niccolo_Machiavelli%27s_portrait_headcrop.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/2/27/Santi_di_Tito_-_Niccolo_Machiavelli%27s_portrait_headcrop.jpg/220px-Santi_di_Tito_-_Niccolo_Machiavelli%27s_portrait_headcrop.jpg: in political theory and people governed.
What's the alternative? Good kings and dictators are as rare in history as hen's teeth and the few "good kings" were those who didn't murder too many serfs. A feudal aristocracy spends its time fighting with each other and grabbing money and conscripts from the lower classes for their wars. A plutocracy? That's what's causing the economic problems we have now. A theocracy? Argh! All that said, a republic lasts as long as the people are willing to fight for it. We'll probably have a dictatorship in the USA within a few years.
The only acceptable alternative that will preserve our Republic is a cleansing of the useless fat; sort of like getting rid of "bad" cholesterol. Revolution and a massive reduction in those that would take and give nothing back is a good beginning.
Another high risk alternative is a benign oligarchy. Effectively, we have the oligarchy part now; there is, like it or not, a "ruling class" sitting at the various seats of government. The "benign" part does not show evidence of its existence other than in rhetoric. I'll leave it to the reader to go for the exact definitions, but the benign oligarchy is supposed to rule with a light hand for the direct benefit of those ruled, and not let power and the love thereof to go to their heads. Still, it is a class that we are not supposed to have here in the good old US of A.
