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From: david@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Don't restrict MY access to handguns just because
Message-ID: <464@fisher.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 4-Jan-85 09:14:20 EST
Article-I.D.: fisher.464
Posted: Fri Jan  4 09:14:20 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 5-Jan-85 03:19:21 EST
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Organization: Princeton Univ. Statistics
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We still seem to be confused by what "democracy" and "republic" mean.

Democracy means, simply, rule of the people.  Any society which
conducts polling in order to fill its offices, make its laws, etc., is
a democracy.  Some may be direct (i.e. having the people vote policy
issues up or down) or indirect (i.e. representative, with elected
officials determining policy).  The ballot box is the distinguishing
characteristic of democracy.

A republic is any government which is ruled by law, rather than the
whim of any group of people, except when that whim is unopposed by
law.  A judicial system is the hallmark of a republic.

Most modern democracies are actually representative democratic
republics, where policy decisions are made by elected officials
restricted by a code of law.  Ancient Athens (if we conveniently
ignore its slaves) was a direct democratic republic.  Ancient Israel
was an undemocratic republic, where policy was made without requiring
popular support, but demanding respect for law.  The rise to power of
the Nazis in Weimar Germany produced (for a short period) an
unrepublican democracy (representative), where elected officials made
policy without regard for law.  Finally, there are many states which
are neither democratic nor republican.

					David Rubin