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6 comments

[–] ScorpioGlitch 1 points (+1|-0)

“Article “ starts off with Brazil which is Constitutional republic, instantly showing that the author has no idea what he’s talking about and is instead just trying to write a right-wing hit piece.

[–] Kannibal [OP] 0 points (+0|-0)

In similar discussions, most people would call the USA a democracy.

Which doesn't mean we should merrily skip down the road to dictatorship.

And we should be aware of threats to the constitution, be they clinton OR trump

[–] ScorpioGlitch 0 points (+0|-0)

Just to be sure, you know the difference between a democracy and a constitutional republic, right?

[–] Kannibal [OP] 0 points (+0|-0)

A classical democracy is Athenian or in the American sense, ye olde New England Town Meeting where everyone has a vote (depending on qualifications, like being property owners, etc)

at some point it doesn't scale well, and you have to use representation with a written organizational structure (a constitution)

Note the Republic of Venice. Venice followed a mixed government model, combining monarchy in the doge, aristocracy in the senate, and a "democracy" of Rialto families in the major council. This is not exactly the American model of republic.

On the other hand, many offices in the Athenian democracy were filled by lottery .

Yet in casual conversation, representative democracies of various types are often refereed to as simply "democracies"