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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis
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To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (48620)3/25/2006 3:21:44 PM
From: regli  Read Replies (1) of 116555
 
"Switzerland is a democracy, America is a republic where the voting public understand they have little control over their government."

To not get hung up on definitions, I'll consider the U.S. an indirect democratic republic.

In order for representative (indirect) democracy to work in the interest of the people, it shouldn't take less but even more involvement by the public. The key advantages of representative government are speedy decision making, theoretically better decisions due to deeper exposure to issues and being able to make decisions with a longer time horizon. (Note that Switzerland combines representative government and direct democracy. This works rather well but does not generally result in speedy decision making.)

However, in representative democracy, if voters do not stay intimately involved in the decisions their representatives make either because of lack of information and critical evaluation in the media or through their desire for distraction as opposed to involvement, then this form of government will inevitably benefit the few over the many and likely result in backroom deals and secrecy that benefit the representatives instead of the people at large.

It results just about inevitably eventually results in an oligarchy or even worse fascism.

Note: In Switzerland it isn't simply the majority that rules. In constitutional referendas, i.e. joining the EU, more than 50% of the people have to vote for the change AND the majority of the cantons have to vote for it.

free-market.net

en.wikipedia.org
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