The site you link states that in a pure democracy 51% beats 49% every time. With the exception of the 2000 presidential election that sounds like the US electoral system to me, so I'm not sure how the author of that site thinks the term 'democracy' doesn't apply. The word 'pure' is significant in there too, as I doubt anyone would claim the United States or any other country is a pure democracy. The president has vetoe power. That can'thappen in a pure democracy. The author also states that "No state may join the United States unless it is a Republic." Virginia is a commonwealth, not a republic. Is there a significant difference? I don't know, but I kow residents of Virginia take being a commonwealth retty seriously.

Massachusetts is also a commonwealth.

Alright, the Wikipedia tells me that a commonwealth can be a republic. Apparently Kentucky, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also call themselves commonwealths. Wikipedia has a great article on the word republic, which pretty much shoots to pieces the idea that republic and democracy are mutually exclusive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic

Good work, Ben. I thought it was an unworkable distinction.

Thanks. At the end of the Wikipedia article which I read after my last comment (yes, I should have read it all before commenting) they address the argument that the USA is a republic and not a democracy, but they don't really back it. Apparently the argument hinges on an older rarely used definition of republic.

Common sense tells me if your government from top to bottom is elected by the people, you're a democracy.

from top to bottom is elected by the people, you're a democracy.

This excludes even my country from being a democracy. I always thought that Republics and a Constitutional Monarchy (like the one in The Netherlands) were so-called 'sub types of democracies'. And then you can divide up a democracy in the way a parliament gets elected, like in proportional representation (most Continental European countries/Europe) and (as we see over here, in Canada/US/England) single-member district plurality representation.

I didn't say that having everyone from top to bottom elected by the people is a requirement for being a democracy. I was saying that if you do fit that description, odds are you ARE a democracy.

I didn't say that having everyone from top to bottom elected by the people is a requirement for being a democracy

That's not what I meant either. I was trying to show that the political word 'democracy' (as in political system) in practice frequently contradicts the true meaning of the word ('governed by the people'). A clear example is North Korea, which officially goes by the name of 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea'.

Ahh yes. Now it's clear. Thank you.

A democracy is not the only governmental organization that relies on votes. Just because there is voting in a system, does not necessarily mean it is a democracy. Part of the definition of a republic is that it's members vote. Actually, a democracy (a stand-alone definition) and a republic (also a stand-alone definition) are identical in all aspects except one: sovereignty.

In a democracy the sovereignty is in the whole body of its membership. Individuals do not have sovereignty, but when acting as a group, they collectively have sovereignty.

In a republic the sovereignty is in the individual members.

The effect is that in a democracy, the decision of the group is a mandate upon the members. It is also a dictatorship of the majority. The minority opinion does not count. Individuals are free only if they are part of the majority.

In a republic the decision of the group is merely advisory. Individual rights (i.e. differences of opinion) are respected. Individuals have freedom.

Thanks Bill. Hence "civic republicanism" - the movement towards collective good without abdication of their soverignty. Under these definitions Canada is a combination as we have individual autonomy but it is a form of soverienty shared with the Queen in the right of the Federal and Provincial governments.

Regarding commonwealth vs. republic:
U.S. Constitution, Article IV: Sect. 4. "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government...." The Congress must approve of the state constitution before the state can be admitted. See admission example at this site. Many states have alternative methods of running their affairs. For example, Louisiana normally is organized under Napolionic law. Other states call themselves commonwealths. But, if a citizen wishes, he can demand all the rights that go with living in a republic. However, the USA has worked hard to produce ignorant citizens in its schools; now few understand the concept of a republic. See here for an example where one person did understand, and fined a judge for contempt of court when the judge abused his position.