Does USA have democracy?

[Kelly6]

[NotTacocaT6969]

If democracy is the new word for crony capitalism.

[Kelly6]

@NotTacocaT6969
Totally

[monorprise]

@Kelly6 @NotTacocaT6969 Is it capitalism if the goverment is limiting everyone's freedom to protect the market share of the highest bidder?

Sounds more like socialism to me given the government regardless of reasons is using its power to control everyone to favor particular outcomes in almost ever area of the economy/life.

Capitalism is only sustainable so long as goverment remains finite in its power.

[whistlingwh0res]

It’s governed by money

[Kelly6]

@whistlingwh0res
Totally agree

[libsaretards]

This is a huge misconception. We are NOT a democracy, but a Representative Republic.

In a Direct Democracy, EVERY person votes on EVERY issue. That would be too time-consuming and nothing would ever get done.

In a Representative Republican, we vote for REPRESENTATIVES (aka people in the House, Senate and Presidency) to deal with issues at hand. In this mode of government, once someone is in office, THEY decide what they will vote for, with the only fear being not being reelected again. During the term they won, there is nothing stopping this representative from voting how they choose.

If you pay close attention to the wording of the Constitution, it says Republic, not democracy.

[goaded]

Do you understand the fallacy of the false dilemma? ↗
Hardly any democracy, if any, is a direct democracy, they're all representative democracies, and they're still democracies. Including the US.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Sort of...

Its not 100% democracy as the citizens don't vote directly for a party, with all the weird stuff going on with voting districts and the democratic and republican party choosing their candidates.

Also if you only got 2 choices basically, the question is if its really a choice.

And you also got the weird thing where you actively have to register to vote, which excludes basically a huge portion of the citizens from voting. As well as different states allow different documents when going to vote. So there is another layer of selection happening.

[KostasKouvalis]

The party doesn't choose the candidate, at least not directly. We have primaries first, which is where VOTERS choose who will represent their party, and then those two go head to head. But you're basically right about everything else you said.

I think we might also be the only nation on earth where the president doesn't get elected by popular vote, and I think we also have the longest election cycle in the world. And yeah, you would imagine that they would want laws to be consistent across all states, but apparently not. Our voting system is so strange and even I have a difficult time explaining it to foreigners.

You don't need to register to vote in Germany? That's cool. I understand IDing someone, but I also don't understand why you need to fill out a form

[monorprise]

@Astarlessnightsky
If you had 10 choices and lost 90%+ of the time did you have any more choice?
2 parties force people to compromise in winnable factions.

As for how their candidates are selected, and how elections themselfs are conducted that dependents upon your state and you do get a vote of what state you live in too. Just a very expensive vote you don't want to cast too often.

The real problem is having more than 2 parties in State politics as invariable state politics invariably effects federal politics both because the State does control the election system and because the state also controls on the ground implementation of nearly all doemsic policies.

Even as the Feds campaign on it, the feds simply don't have the army of police to enforce for good reason.

Regardless in every state the people who make said election choices (the state legislator) are also elected in every state so you get a ballot vote there too if you want to work within that system.

Otherwise leave.

[Kaneki05]

Depends what you mean by democracy, there isn't a true democracy anywhere really. The same is true for most political stances no real place ever actually upholds these keywords despite what they claim. So getting into the semantics no.

But leaving the semantics and saying yeah they do basically vote for things and have a lot more personal agency sure.
The thing is a lot of average folk are okay with voting for bad presidents so even though it's bad options who's only there cause rich and old with nothing better to do, the people voted so that's that. Democracy in action lol.

[strateguy632]

first it is a republic. the whole fuss these days is: democrats trying to do an association trick so people won't associate republican party with republic.
*tecnicly democracy means "demo-" public "cracy" rule" so u. s. has a congress and is also a democracy too.
the spirit of democracy like free speech we lost.
other people decided which words you are allowed to say not only on fascist facebook and twitter but even in speech. so we lost our democracy in the name of "racism and phobia" bullying.

[Sirenboobzilla]

USA is a Democratic Republic

[JacobJordan]

@Sirenboobzilla nope. It is a constitutional federal republic

[Sirenboobzilla]

That's literally what a Democratic Republic is...

[JacobJordan]

@Sirenboobzilla sort of but not really. A democratic republic doesn't necessarily need a constitution or any of the checks and balances we have to keep the various legal entities in check. Which means it can be very corrupt very easily. Meanwhile a constitutional federal republic it is harder due to the checks and balances.

[monorprise]

@Sirenboobzilla @jacobjordan Is correct, in a democratic republic the goverment can do whatever it's representatives want kind of like parliament.

Only the state legislators in convention would in theory have that kind of power if you could ever get a large majority in 3/4ths of them to agree.

[genericname85]

No. much like most western first world country, the USA have an inderect oligarchy with a system where the democratically voted representants who are supposed to "represent" the people they got voted by actually represent whoever they are paid by most.

i don't see any of the western "democracies" having a good system that prevents the representants from just making decisions in favor of the highest paying lobbyist. so i don't think that any of these countries actually would qualify as a "democracy", cause "democracy" means government by the people for the people. the people have no say at all in the policy part of politics. and therefore the system isn't democratic.

[Anonymous]

We are suppose to be a Federation of 50 Constitutional republics which have democratic tradition some of whom have democratic traditions.
All of them are united under a Federal Constitutional union.

That Federal organization is very much not democratic holding no direct elections at all and like the states that formed it was generally created to be very much against the idea of democracy. Seeing the mob as dangerous to the right of the people as a monarchy.

Instead both are Constitutional republics which is limited governments.

[bobby_bush_eater]

For the most part though it's a "Republic" hence the certain votes that are not 50/50 or more and the electoral college.

Democracy is inherently flawed though. It's on the basis that we are equal and in intelligence and understanding or just merit itself, we are far from equal. There is also the tyranny of the majority which is very real, the mob mentality has been prominent in the US especially as of late.

Before someone gets angry about me saying we are not equal, does Napoleon Bonaparte have any kind of scale where he is equal to let's say Honey Boo Boo?

[Cute_Miss_Laura]

No! The U. S. has never been a democracy, it is a "Representative Constitutional Republic".
It was set-up that way by our founding father’s so as to avoid what they called “The tyranny of the majority” otherwise know as “mob rule”!

I hope that helps
Laura 🤗 🥰

[Anonymous]

I think it's hilarious that India outpopulates the USA at a total of 4-1 and isn't even CLOSE to being the most populous country on Earth... yet the USA holds 25 percent of the ENTIRE GLOBE'S prison population -and toots it's horn to everyone ELSE... about how they're "so much more free" than everyone else. The USA sure does have a weird perception of what "freedom" is. I guess being a lifelong dope fiend in D block eating round scoops of peanut butter off of plastic trays and trading ramen soups is their definition of freedom.😉

[AviatorTom]

The United States has a Democratic Republic form of government, where people vote for representatives in government. It's a form of democracy.

YouTube personality Feli from Germany explains it well in her video...

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dfkQ4pa3qr8

It's interesting that it takes a foreigner to explain government to Americans. 🤔

[monorprise]

@AviatorTom
Fel's and frankly the international 'modern' definition of democracy and republic is almost uselessly broad and not the definition we hold.

Just because you have elections does not make you a democracy.
Furthermore just because you don't have a monarch does not make you a republic.

There is historically and currently a broad spectrum of different kinds of governments which don't fit well into even those obsessively to the point of being uselessly broad definitions.

Indeed even this definition of a "republic" as being anything "not monarchy" is nonsense.

Does that make most of the worlds dictatorships "Republics" despite the fact they hold no elections?

Or what about those dictatorships that hold elections but only among a tiny carefully selected minority of the population? Do we regard Communist State's "Democracy"?

For that matter what is a "monarchy" vs a Dictatorship, the fact that the dictator can pass on his power to his son? Does that mean Iraq under Saddam was a Monarchy as Saddam seemed intent to give his son's his power?
Or was it a republic because it had representatives who nominally controlled who controlled Iraq even if they were not elected by everyone?

Theses definitions are uselessly broad.

Which is why we tend to call democracy direct election via the people.

Republic to be a Representative Constitutional Government of laws. Not merely representative as oligarchies (dictatorships) are also representative or so claim to be, as is the UK goverment. But neither are really limited in power and could if they choose simply take over as some did like the ones we call oligarchs/communist.

[sawno]

I don't consider it a democracy, but my criteria for a democracy is so strict most countries don't conform to that. Because my criteria is that society has a way to vote on policy. In the US you can vote on one of two viable party's neither of which does what the people actually want.

[monorprise]

@sawno
I more agree with you the historic definition of democracy is about the people directly voting on policy not representatives and certainly not with rules limiting what they can vote on.

[Anonymous]

Nope. It was set up as a representative-style republic, not a democracy.

But the representative government was usurped by greed and our representatives work for monied interests like billionaires, corporations, industries, the Israel lobby, and the global banking establishment. American citizens, themselves, have no representation.

Plus there is a shadow government that is not answerable to the constitutional government.

[SotiCoto]

Nah. It has a bunch of corporations whose boards of directors control things... and a token government bankrolled by the corporations who make the laws that allow said corporations to keep functioning at the expense of the public.

i. e. It is a capitalist hell-hole. Even moreso than most other western countries.

[chrissykerdock]

let's see we have a useless government we have millions of immigrants other countries emptied out their jails women get raped and killed like never before we have chaos

[electromagnetic]

I honestly have no idea Kellz, I’m living above the boarder and watching our own shit show unfold.

[b_lova]

We are considered a Democratic Republic. We vote for the people who represent us then create / vote for the laws of the land.

I'm a pure democracy we would vote for everything ourselves.

[DJB72]

It's supposed to be a republic, not a democracy.

A democracy ends up with a dictatorship where the elected leader ceases to represent the majority and inevitably degenerates into a society run by a minority elite...

[Anonymous]

It’s a democratic republic. Meaning we “elect” the officials and they represent their own interest and say it’s what the people want. When they are working for corporations and such. We are the modern day Roman Empire, on a different scale and we will probably fall like Rome as well.

[FreyaRed]

No. Capitalization of profits, socialization of expenses by Industrial-military complex isn't democracy.

[andreasderjuengere]

Only for those who vote for the ''Democrats''.

The others are happier with proclaiming a ''Republic''

(The 'enemy' is everywhere :D ... even where he isn't)

[Samantha_17]

People should ask for it in the first place. You don't ask for democracy if you don't have money in your pocket. Part of the reason the governments like poor people. It's easy to "govern" them.

[normalice]

It has the tools for one but rich people have snatched most of them up.

[Dargil]

The USA has a Representative Democracy AKA a Republic. Local elections are a Democracy.

[Lynx122]

In name yes, in practice no.

[Kelly6]

@Lynx122 exactly

[goaded]

Hardly any, if any, democracy is a direct democracy, they're all representative democracies, and they're still democracies. Including the US.

[Bricealan]

Not the way it looks lately... looks like a communist block country.

[DrPepper12]

No. An oligarchy.

What we need is a parliamentary system with multi vote ranked choice voting mandatory.

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

In theory yes, but in reality no since politicians don't listen to the will of the people to pass the laws the people want.

[AngryCarl]

In a sense it does. You get to vote for your candidate. The fact that all candidates are equally useless doesn't render the process undemocratic.

[FunkyMonkee]

It won't by the time Joey gets done fucking us over!!

[Alex-Snow]

Yes we do but it may be in jeopardy after the November elections

[Unit1]

It's all about absolute power and money and connections.

Voting is a deception.

[NYCQuestions1976]

The United States is a Constitutional Republic.

[soe11]

Much more personal freedom then others countries

[Anonymous]

It did but we're slowly losing it with the A*****e that's in Office now!

[SoJust]

The USA is the hub of democracy, such a question cannot be asked.

[imfreeze95]

No we have a republic it is a subtle but important distinction

[handsomelad70]

Sorta, but it really has plutocracy, rule of an by the rich.

[LiamS95]

Yes, bug possibly not as great of a democracy as was envisioned by the founding fathers.

[Amur8711]

We are a Republic using representative democracy to decide the representatives that speak for their voters.

[laly520]

short answer, no.

[Anonymous]

The USA was founded as a Constitutional Republic, and was never a Democracy

[ApplePie409]

Not since Biden.

[nudeNhorny]

no, it's a fake democracy.

[Arik_jade]

Yes... pseudo democracy

[slatyb]

At least until November. After that I didn't know.

[NathanDavis]

the funny kind...

[Chazmatazz269]

Definitely not. We’d just fuck it up anyway.

[SpaceGalaxy]

Absolutely... NOT!

[exitseven]

it is a constitutional republic.

[MicahRaine]

We used to, but we are losing it.

[XXblack88]

yes we're both a democratic republic

[loveslongnails]

Only if you're stupid enough to think so.

[Grond21]

It's a constitutional republic

[KrakenAttackin]

We have a Constitutional Republic.

[onedarkcloud]

No, it is a republic!

[OtterMan68]

the US is a democratic republic

[FuqUFggt]

No thank God. We have a republic

[RedInnocent69]

Yes. Although it’s become dysfunctional.

[elaphe]

No, it is a representative republic.