deinse81 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

That definition does not completely describe what the United States is: there are certain limitations on this government, that a democracy does not have: a democracy doesn't have to respect the individuals' rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for instance - if a majority voted against them, they could be wiped out. In the US, that's not the case, and there are many other limitations.(on the military for instance, which can only be used in self defense)

deinse81 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

But of course the United States is not a democracy. The US is, in theory, a republic: in theory, its citizens cannot vote on a law, if that law contradicts the letter or principles of the Constitution, nor can the elected officials go against those principles.

rjbonacolta (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

In Political Science, the only thing you need for a democracy, are free elections where any eleigbale citizen can vote, either on a law or for office holders see Putnam's Bowling Alone or Democracies in Flux

ipx4 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

"Je voterais volontiers une loi qui permette de pendre une douzaine de banquiers par an". Jonathan Swift

ak47taufi (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

the whole movie is pretty fast with the plot, at least first time I saw the movie after reading the book, but I enjoy watching some parts of the movie once in a while "build it as a monument to that spirit which is yours and could have been mine"..

KentLansing (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

heAR! heAR!

Dionysius779 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

This is certainly not how I imagined this while I was reading the book. He speaks too quickly and does not put enough emphasis on his words. They should remake it.

BlackProteus (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

There's no difference between your republicanism and democracy. The only thing I can see that counts differently is that you seem to be against any form of referendum. A very small distinction.

BlackProteus (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Thanks for addressing my questions seriously. I don't want my message about Americans and the FFs to be lost: many Americans are blinded by devotion to the FFs, and fail to evaluate them objectively because they are full of nationalist feeling. You see evidence of this in the recurring argument from authority: "The FFs said X, so X is true." I encounter it all the time. It's a fallacy. They were just men. They were capable of error, and they sometimes did err.

BlackProteus (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

"But by the proper, scientific classification we are not a democracy." There is no "scientific classification" of state structures. These are social structures we are talking about.