I’m almost 50. I said the pledge of allegiance every day. Our education system is so messed up that they didn’t bother to explain what it meant.
Hell, I’m old enough that I also sang ‘Zippity Doo Dah ‘ every day also. Plus, we had the strap in school. Teachers and principals taking their anger out on 10 years olds. That was weird.
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Strictly speaking to be a Republic, you need to have had a revolt, typically against a head of state e.g. King, tyrant, dictator etc who held (in the opinion of the rebels) absolute power, and replaced them with something in which power is then shared between more than one person. Of course in practice this isn’t often how it’s done, hence things like the GDR back in the day, and the Peopel’s Republic of China / Republic of Chines (PRC/ROC) both of whom use the word Republic despite the ROC having been a dictatorship for a significant period of it’s existence and so on
The democractic bit is, as said elsewhere, entierly optional and often a clue that the country is not, in fact, democractic e.g. North Korea being the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
A Republic is a country that is not a Democracy. In a democracy, the people elect the leaders and the leaders make the decisions. In a republic, the people elect the leaders and the leaders make the decisions and the people don’t have a say.
A Republic is a country that is not a Democracy. In a democracy, the people elect the leaders and the leaders make the decisions. In a republic, the people elect the leaders and the leaders make the decisions and the people don’t have a say.
A Republic is a country that is not a Democracy. In a democracy, the people elect the leaders and the leaders make the decisions. In a republic, the people elect the leaders and the leaders make the decisions and the people don’t have a say.
Originally, the republic (a la Spartan/Roman republic) was a political entity that combined the best features of the “most virtuous” forms of governance:
1.). Monarchy (rule by the one)
2.). Aristocracy (rule by the best)
3.). Democracy (rule by the many)
Polybius noted that each of these forms devolved into decadent versions of themselves:
1.). Tyranny (rule by the one, but not attached to the interest of the people)
2.). Oligarchy (rule by the few or the rich)
3.). Mob rule (which led to anarchy)
These forms rotated in a circle, clockwise, in a process called “anacyclosis.” You went from:
1.). Benevolent monarchy
2.). Tyranny
3.). Aristocracy
4.). Oligarchy
5.). Democracy
6.). Mob rule
7.). Anarchy
And then the cycle started over again.
The republic was a form of government designed to stop that cycle, as it allowed for class conflicts to be resolved through various instruments of the hybrid political system.
So in our own constitutional republic, you have
1.). Monarchy (in times of war/emergency the chief executive can function effectively as a monarch— but these powers are temporary and limited. The point of this is to give the state flexibility in times of crisis, and to allow it to act quickly and decisively)
2.). Aristocracy (the senate and the Supreme Court— the Supreme Court is extremely aristocratic; not an elected body, and theoretically is a quasi- “council of elders” type body). The senate was originally also not an elected body— until recently senators were appointed by state legislatures.
3.). Democracy (the house, which is the largest, most democratic institution, and its composition is based on proportional representation. The house is given enormous power as all spending laws must originate in the house).
Originally, the republic (a la Spartan/Roman republic) was a political entity that combined the best features of the “most virtuous” forms of governance:
1.). Monarchy (rule by the one)
2.). Aristocracy (rule by the best)
3.). Democracy (rule by the many)
Polybius noted that each of these forms devolved into decadent versions of themselves:
1.). Tyranny (rule by the one, but not attached to the interest of the people)
2.). Oligarchy (rule by the few or the rich)
3.). Mob rule (which led to anarchy)
These forms rotated in a circle, clockwise, in a process called “anacyclosis.” You went from:
1.). Benevolent monarchy
2.). Tyranny
3.). Aristocracy
4.). Oligarchy
5.). Democracy
6.). Mob rule
7.). Anarchy
And then the cycle started over again.
The republic was a form of government designed to stop that cycle, as it allowed for class conflicts to be resolved through various instruments of the hybrid political system.
So in our own constitutional republic, you have
1.). Monarchy (in times of war/emergency the chief executive can function effectively as a monarch— but these powers are temporary and limited. The point of this is to give the state flexibility in times of crisis, and to allow it to act quickly and decisively)
2.). Aristocracy (the senate and the Supreme Court— the Supreme Court is extremely aristocratic; not an elected body, and theoretically is a quasi- “council of elders” type body). The senate was originally also not an elected body— until recently senators were appointed by state legislatures.
3.). Democracy (the house, which is the largest, most democratic institution, and its composition is based on proportional representation. The house is given enormous power as all spending laws must originate in the house).
Originally, the republic (a la Spartan/Roman republic) was a political entity that combined the best features of the “most virtuous” forms of governance:
1.). Monarchy (rule by the one)
2.). Aristocracy (rule by the best)
3.). Democracy (rule by the many)
Polybius noted that each of these forms devolved into decadent versions of themselves:
1.). Tyranny (rule by the one, but not attached to the interest of the people)
2.). Oligarchy (rule by the few or the rich)
3.). Mob rule (which led to anarchy)
These forms rotated in a circle, clockwise, in a process called “anacyclosis.” You went from:
1.). Benevolent monarchy
2.). Tyranny
3.). Aristocracy
4.). Oligarchy
5.). Democracy
6.). Mob rule
7.). Anarchy
And then the cycle started over again.
The republic was a form of government designed to stop that cycle, as it allowed for class conflicts to be resolved through various instruments of the hybrid political system.
So in our own constitutional republic, you have
1.). Monarchy (in times of war/emergency the chief executive can function effectively as a monarch— but these powers are temporary and limited. The point of this is to give the state flexibility in times of crisis, and to allow it to act quickly and decisively)
2.). Aristocracy (the senate and the Supreme Court— the Supreme Court is extremely aristocratic; not an elected body, and theoretically is a quasi- “council of elders” type body). The senate was originally also not an elected body— until recently senators were appointed by state legislatures.
3.). Democracy (the house, which is the largest, most democratic institution, and its composition is based on proportional representation. The house is given enormous power as all spending laws must originate in the house).
Sorry if this has been said already, but the words republic and democracy are general terms that mean the same thing, despite some people’s claims that they are different. Look at the root words for help: re (reign) + public (people) and dem (people) ocracy (regime). Political scientists to not make a distinction between the two, though some high-school civics teachers might. A republic doesn’t mean a representative democracy vs. a direct one where people vote on everything.
Sorry if this has been said already, but the words republic and democracy are general terms that mean the same thing, despite some people’s claims that they are different. Look at the root words for help: re (reign) + public (people) and dem (people) ocracy (regime). Political scientists to not make a distinction between the two, though some high-school civics teachers might. A republic doesn’t mean a representative democracy vs. a direct one where people vote on everything.
A democratic government is one where the people elect their leaders and vote on laws. A true democracy means the people vote on every law. A republic is a form of democracy that recognizes that the layman knows nothing about legislation, law, regulation, logistics, etc. So instead we entrust the people to vote for somebody to make those decisions for them. It, in theory, legend demagogues from being elected as well, but we know that’s not true now.
The very short answer is that a republic is a democracy with elected representatives to vote on most laws and regulations.
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