Friday, February 16, 2007

Democracy

Democracy is a term that the President throws around a great deal. I looked it up.

Democracy (literally "rule by the people", from the Greek
demos, "people," and kratos, "rule"[1]) is a form of
government
. Today, the term democracy is often used to refer to liberal democracy,[2] but there is no necessity that democracies be liberal (i.e. respectful of individual liberty and property) and in some cases may be illiberal democracies.

I looked up the term Republican and Republicanism.

"Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation
as a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, rule
by the people, and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. Republicanism always stands in opposition to aristocracy, oligarchy and dictatorship. More broadly, it refers to a political system that protects liberty, especially by
incorporating a rule of law that cannot be arbitrarily ignored by the government. Much of the literature deals with the
issue of what sort of values and behavior by the citizens is necessary if the republic is to survive and flourish; the emphasis has been on widespread citizen participation, civic virtue, and opposition to corruption."

How many Republicans in the last congress read this? I would wager, very few.

I love this part:
"Advocates of republicanism argue that it demands a citizenry that puts a
premium on civil virtue and opposes corruption. Most authors argue that
republicanism is incompatible with office holders using public power for
personal gain. [2] Many dictatorships have called themselves "republics," but none ever protected liberty or the rights of their citizens."

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