Mob rule - And the mob is always led by morons!

The worst form of government...unless you count all the others.-Winston Churchill

i call democracy a dream deferred for most african- americans, i being a propnet of socialism (more equal distrubtion of resources) than democracy as long as there are not more political parties i will call this political philsophy a dream deferred.

Good idea but get rid of the two party system we have it's gonna destroy our country. Either your an American or get out of the country.

Basically, most people are stupid. So, Democracy doesn't work. If your town has democratic town meetings you will realize this. BTW America is not a Democracy, it is a Democratic Republic.

In the current state of affairs, we should properly refer to what most people call democracy OPINION-POLL-ocracy, or maybe LOBBY-ocracy, or maybe OLD-BOY-ocracy. Democracy never made it out of the ancient greek imagination. If 99%of us get wiped out by bad beef, bad salmon, or bad war, it could work, as long as the survivors haven't been educated in the US.

Although democracy is a great objective, it's unfortunate that the US is nowhere near true democracy. Our leaders still have total power over all decision making, with the people having no say until the next election.

Geat for communes and squatter settlements, maybe even very small nations. Horrible for anybody else. Unless, of course, you think that holding a referendum on every single issue in the country sounds like fun. Or letting group think control our policies. Democracy is not a practical form of government.

First, when will people learn that the USA is a republic not a demcracy. The Ancient Roman senate was closer to being a demcracy than the U.S. is. The Roman Senate only decided what would be voted on, the people of rome actually voted. Anyway the idea behind true democracy is just scary. People are way to ignorant to have that much power. It would also be a very slow acting goverment. In the system we have now, is way to special intrest based. For ex: affirmative action. Intially it was a great idea and needed to make this country mature. Now as racism and sexism have delined rapidly in the last 30yrs it keeps the country from advancing further and allowing the best person get the job. Special intrests groups are like playing frizbee with a dog It cathces the frizbee but wont let the bloody thing go. Our democracy Is slowing down the advancment of our society.

In The Republic, Plato says that Democracy will ultimately end in tyranny because the average person will fall victim to a populist demagogue. Presumably this is because the average person, or those I see each day, are ignorant of, or not interested in, the bigger picture, and are simply not informaed enough to make a responsible informed contribution to public life. Also, democracy has never existed. America is a plutocracy rather than a democracy. The two are poles apart.

I still can't find a place where democracy has ever existed. How can I rate something that no country has practiced yet? Instant 1.

A Deocracy is a system in which every citizen casts a vote on every governmental issue. In other words, organized mob rule. This type of government cannot rule a large population, nor can it survive for long ruling a small population.

A straight Democracy in operation in a nation as large as the United States is impossible. Have you checked out recently the percentage of Americans that are eligable to vote. That alone states that nearly half this country could care less one way or another about what's going down in Washington D.C. The United States is a 'Democratic Republic'- we respect the rights of the individuals and the minorities. In a Democracy- Michael Jackson would be making decisions for this country. Since the U.S. is a Democratic-Republic, I will give this a 3, but the idea of appeasing the majority while ignoring the minority is basically what Democracy is all about. "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."- Thomas Jefferson.

Acording to the system of Pr. K. M. Smogorzewski (now dead) there are four leanings on the political spectrum that use democracy, from left to right thay are Social-democracy, Center-left(Liberal-socialism), Center wing(Liberal-democrats), Center-right(Liberal-nationalist) and Right(Nationalists of the anti dictatorial kind). Social-democracy then Nationalism are useualy the least democratic of the five systems. See Libralism.

"Democracy" is mob rule. It places the rights of the group above the rights of the individual.

The only point I'll make here is to remind people the Democracy and Capitolism are not directly linked.

Vastly over rated. Unfortunately, unethical, lazy and unintelligent people have learn that they can vote themselves benefits by stealing from others.

Really, democracy is a failure in practice, for anything larger than a household. Gaining the input of every citizen on every issue may no longer be impossible, but it is unwise, as the creation of a class of politicians is more efficient, and a better use of resources. A democracy requires that every citizen be informed on every subject. Unlikely at best.

Democracy is a great system. I wonder when America will adopt one instead of a corporate run system.

Some of you have said democracy is dangerous, and that is why we don't have a real democacy in the US. Common people are bad?

We are not a straight democracy. We are a 'Democratic Rupublic under law'. But I will give five for both.

Free rights to ALL.

Misguided.

You guys aren't taking the people seriosly enough. Don't you think people in general are intelligent or know their own best? Do you think they are more egoistic than parliamentarians? Look to Switzerland, the democratic rule there works perfectly, though it's true they aren't members of neither EU nor UN. Maybe because they fear the lack of democracy to minor democratic political systems? At least Swiz people are way less egoistic than Austrians! But true democracy can't e made without federalism!

It's terrible that, as freedom is exported across the world in the wake of the collapse of communism and other totalitarian regimes, we Americans tend to advocate "democracy" as though the genius of our Constitution is as simple as "majority rule". The American founders' special focus on the idea of individual rights, protected FROM the "will of the people", is what has caused American greatness over the past 225 years. Democractic systems are superior to "anti-democratic" systems, but the tendency to look at it in this binary way really misses the point.

Well, I'm certainly no deep political thinker, but some of the books I've read recently have raised some interesting issues associated with democracy. In the 1700s, people used the word "democrat" as an insult, claiming that advocates of democracy were really advocates of mob rule. Only later did the word take on more positive connotations. I hadn't really thought about it before, but there really is a big difference between "democracy" - where the people have direct power - and "republicanism" - where the people elect representatives who have the power. Under pure democracy, you run some serious risks, like the possibility of the majority tyrannizing the minority or the possibility that public opinion, fickle as it is, can't set and hold consistent policy. Imagine a country where everyone is hooked up to the Internet, and all major government decisions are made by a direct majority vote of the people... That society would qualify as a democracy, but it would be a nightmare. Power should reside with the people, but not without the buffer provided by elected representatives.