Why It Is Important To Understand The Constitutional Republic VS Democracy Debate

By Patty Goff


The importance of knowing the difference between the republican form of government the United States established in 1787 and the democracies that are in many other countries is crucial. It is important to understand what the US Constitution says about what can and can not be done in the name of the rule of law. The debate of constitutional republic vs democracy should always be entered into with knowledge.

Looking into a republican form of government, one finds that the peoples rights are guaranteed because of the writing of a constitution. In the United States, this document sets up a separation of powers. This is established as the legislative, executive and judicial branches which serve as a check and balance against each other.

In a democracy, the vote of the people carries the day. This vote is for the elected leaders to serve as the masterminds of the country. There is no separation of powers and all power is gathered in this overtly isolated court of central planners. By not having certain enumerated powers, this group will take all powers unto themselves and there is no appeal to it.

In a republic, the people elect members of the various houses of congress and the presidency. The people also express their desires as far as certain issues come to be debated by these politicians. It is expected that the peoples will is taken into consideration, and should be, before the issues under consideration are passed into law.

One of the things about democracy is that it has often been called mob rule. When the vote occurs, the majority wins and the minority loses. There are no minority rights as all members of the society must adhere to the new majority decision. This is akin to a group of 20 lions and 15 zebras having a vote on what to have for dinner.

It is important to note that the US Constitution had to be ratified, or accepted, by the majority of the current states in 1787. They had to say that they agreed to this document before it could be made the law of the land. This is important because it had never been done before in the history of the world. The people, of a majority of the states, must also accept any changes to it. They do not, in a republican form of government, get a chance to physically vote for everything that passes both houses of congress. They do, however, believe that the representatives they send should be tuned into their ideas.

The Constitution makes it plain what is to be done, even for issues that are not specifically mentioned in it. The guide that this gives the legislators is a bulwark against tyranny. The democracy, on the other hand, has no such guidelines. The elected members of the mastermind class, involved in a democracy, have no need to remember history. They have no need to connect causes and effect in their attempt to make everyone the same as everyone else.

The fact that the United States, in 2014, does not resemble a republican form of government is to every voters detriment. The framers of the Constitution created a republican, federal government. It did not want a national government which would have resembled a democracy they did not want to establish.




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