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USA not a legitimate democracy

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Moderate71

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According to the U.N., the United States is not a legitimate democracy. It is a flawed democracy.

Here is a quote from an article:

"Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Countries such as the Scandinavian countries and Germany are full democracies, whereas the USA is in the same category as Mexico, India, and South Africa.
 
Moderate71 said:
According to the U.N., the United States is not a legitimate democracy. It is a flawed democracy.

Here is a quote from an article:

"Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Countries such as the Scandinavian countries and Germany are full democracies, whereas the USA is in the same category as Mexico, India, and South Africa.
Click to expand...

The quote reads accurate to me.
 
Moderate71 said:
According to the U.N., the United States is not a legitimate democracy. It is a flawed democracy.

Here is a quote from an article:

"Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Countries such as the Scandinavian countries and Germany are full democracies, whereas the USA is in the same category as Mexico, India, and South Africa.
Click to expand...

The United States is not a sole democracy to begin with. Never was.
 
Moderate71 said:
According to the U.N., the United States is not a legitimate democracy. It is a flawed democracy.

Here is a quote from an article:

"Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Countries such as the Scandinavian countries and Germany are full democracies, whereas the USA is in the same category as Mexico, India, and South Africa.
Click to expand...

This reminds me of hearing Jordan Peterson on YOUTUBE yesterday saying "When power enables people to move to the top of hierarchies then those hierarchies are corrupt (paraphrase maybe)".

America is a very corrupt place.
 
The US is the size and population of Europe. Apples and oranges. Let's at least compare the richest Euro states with the richest American states. And let's include standards of living like population density.
 
biglawnmower said:
The United States is not a sole democracy to begin with. Never was.
Click to expand...

!00% correct never has been and it never will be and thats a GOOD thing.
 
One issue the article mentions that erodes a democracy is people's distrust of the government and infringement of the press. In the USA people are allowed to be too critical of the government that grants them rights and the press that helps keep them informed. The president himself has criticized the press quite a bit. Perhaps a few legal standards need to be set to reign in some of the discontent.
 
Moderate71 said:
One issue the article mentions that erodes a democracy is people's distrust of the government and infringement of the press. In the USA people are allowed to be too critical of the government that grants them rights and the press that helps keep them informed. The president himself has criticized the press quite a bit. Perhaps a few legal standards need to be set to reign in some of the discontent.
Click to expand...

ROFL you solution to being a better democracy is to curtail freedoms
 
Crovax said:
ROFL you solution to being a better democracy is to curtail freedoms
Click to expand...

The first and most important step in being happy is being content. If people aren't criticizing the government or the press, it reduces discontent and keeps people happy. When people are happy, they will have no desire to do anything against the government's rules and there will be no need to restrict their behavior on a mass scale. They simply need to be kept happy.
 
Moderate71 said:
According to the U.N., the United States is not a legitimate democracy. It is a flawed democracy.

Here is a quote from an article:

"Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Countries such as the Scandinavian countries and Germany are full democracies, whereas the USA is in the same category as Mexico, India, and South Africa.
Click to expand...

The United States isn't a democracy, anyway.
 
CMPancake said:
A Constitutional Republic is a form of democracy.
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No it’s not. A constitutional republic is simply a society governed by law according to a written constitution and without a monarch.

Cuba for example is a constitutional republic
 
Moderate71 said:
According to the U.N., the United States is not a legitimate democracy. It is a flawed democracy.

Here is a quote from an article:

"Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Countries such as the Scandinavian countries and Germany are full democracies, whereas the USA is in the same category as Mexico, India, and South Africa.
Click to expand...

The UN has some pretty stupid qualification there, to be honest...
 
apdst said:
The United States isn't a democracy, anyway.
Click to expand...

It is a republic, which is a representative democracy.

I keep hearing our conservative posters here stress that we are not a democracy. I have never understood this appeal. Why is this so important to keep repeating? What underlies this? It really does sound like there is an ominous agenda underlying this fascination with us supposedly not being a democracy.

It’s a little creepy to keep hearing that repeated over and over again with such glee and barely suppressed enthusiasm.
 
Moderate71 said:
One issue the article mentions that erodes a democracy is people's distrust of the government and infringement of the press. In the USA people are allowed to be too critical of the government that grants them rights and the press that helps keep them informed. The president himself has criticized the press quite a bit. Perhaps a few legal standards need to be set to reign in some of the discontent.
Click to expand...

Moderate71 said:
The first and most important step in being happy is being content. If people aren't criticizing the government or the press, it reduces discontent and keeps people happy. When people are happy, they will have no desire to do anything against the government's rules and there will be no need to restrict their behavior on a mass scale. They simply need to be kept happy.
Click to expand...

You can't possibly be serious.
 
ataraxia said:
It is a republic, which is a representative democracy.

I keep hearing our conservative posters here stress that we are not a democracy. I have never understood this appeal. Why is this so important to keep repeating? What underlies this? It really does sound like there is an ominous agenda underlying this fascination with us supposedly not being a democracy.

It’s a little creepy to keep hearing that repeated over and over again with such glee and barely suppressed enthusiasm.
Click to expand...

No, it's a republic...period. No founding document refers to democracy, a single time.
 
apdst said:
No, it's a republic...period. No founding document refers to democracy, a single time.
Click to expand...

Yes. The only true direct democracy in world history was ancient Athens- and that was only because it was a small city and people could vote directly on issues. Anything bigger, and you need representatives to represent the people, that’s why it’s called a republic: a representative democracy.

At least that’s what a republic means to me. It’s a type of democracy, an indirect one. But you, obviously it means something very different. And it’s obviously important enough for you you keep repeating it. What underlies this odd interest in emphasizing that we are not a democracy?
 
Moderate71 said:
The first and most important step in being happy is being content. If people aren't criticizing the government or the press, it reduces discontent and keeps people happy. When people are happy, they will have no desire to do anything against the government's rules and there will be no need to restrict their behavior on a mass scale. They simply need to be kept happy.
Click to expand...

Wow, Chairman Mao couldn't have said it better. The beatings will continue until morale improves!


ataraxia said:
It is a republic, which is a representative democracy.

I keep hearing our conservative posters here stress that we are not a democracy. I have never understood this appeal. Why is this so important to keep repeating? What underlies this? It really does sound like there is an ominous agenda underlying this fascination with us supposedly not being a democracy.

It’s a little creepy to keep hearing that repeated over and over again with such glee and barely suppressed enthusiasm.
Click to expand...

It's a word definition fetish. Some folks are really type A about that. I don't see glee around it very often, but words do have specific meanings, and it is inaccurate to call the USA a democracy.

Our elections are democratic (mostly) and occasionally they'll have ballot measures at the state and local level where voters can directly impact policy, but as a nation we are a republic.

There's about a dozen terms you can apply to that (and more coming all the time) but "democracy" ain't one of them.
 
apdst said:
No, it's a republic...period. No founding document refers to democracy, a single time.
Click to expand...

The US, China and North Korea are republics, Canada and Australia aren't. What's the difference between the US and China, and the similarity between US and Canada?
 
ataraxia said:
Yes. The only true direct democracy in world history was ancient Athens- and that was only because it was a small city and people could vote directly on issues. Anything bigger, and you need representatives to represent the people, that’s why it’s called a republic: a representative democracy.

At least that’s what a republic means to me. It’s a type of democracy, an indirect one. But you, obviously it means something very different. And it’s obviously important enough for you you keep repeating it. What underlies this odd interest in emphasizing that we are not a democracy?
Click to expand...

The United States is, in no way, shape, or form a "democracy". And, that's good thing.
 
spud_meister said:
The US, China and North Korea are republics, Canada and Australia aren't. What's the difference between the US and China, and the similarity between US and Canada?
Click to expand...

I think you're touching on the gap right here. The method of governing is not the same as the method of selecting the leaders of government.

There are republics with no elections, sham elections, or fully democratic elections. None of them are democracies.
 
Moderate71 said:
According to the U.N., the United States is not a legitimate democracy. It is a flawed democracy.

Here is a quote from an article:

"Flawed democracies are nations where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are honored but may have issues (e.g. media freedom infringement). These nations have significant faults in other democratic aspects, including underdeveloped political culture, low levels of participation in politics, and issues in the functioning of governance."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Countries such as the Scandinavian countries and Germany are full democracies, whereas the USA is in the same category as Mexico, India, and South Africa.
Click to expand...

That's because the US is a Constitutional Republic.

I sure wish that the public school system would still teach basic civics.
 
As mentioned, we are not a democracy in the classic sense. Secondly, the UN is nothing more than a forum for tinhat dictators and other lesser types to attack the United States. Nobody should care in the least what they think and it's long past time for us to have shuttled them off to the Netherlands or somewhere similar. They're taking up space for something else that might actually be useful.
 
If it gets bad enough, the U.N. might have to step in and force some changes in the USA. Possibly add a few Amendments to our constitution or repeal/modify a few.
 
Moderate71 said:
If it gets bad enough, the U.N. might have to step in and force some changes in the USA. Possibly add a few Amendments to our constitution or repeal/modify a few.
Click to expand...

Step in? That's called starting a war.:roll:
 
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