History 101 America is a Democracy
Actually, America is a democratic republic! I’d ask my students, “What is the difference between a democracy and a republic? I’ll give you a hint; you must use the word lawin your answer.” In a democracy, people make the laws. In a republic, representatives make the laws. Since we elect our representatives (unlike Rome), we indirectly make the laws. Hence, we have a democratic republic.
Not so fast Amasing, we live in an oligarchy!
According the Merriman-Webster dictionary, an oligarchy is defined as “a country, business, etc, that is controlled by a small group of people.” A recent report by the academic journal Perspectives on Politics, concluded that the United States is a not a democracy but an oligarchy. Their findings state:
"Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts. Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association, and a widespread (if still contested) franchise".
The complete study can be found here in this pdf file:
Oh well, looks like I have to go back to school again.
SUNY Albany:
It also means getting drunk at “WTs,” Washington Tavern!
Ah, the good old college days.
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