# Americans mix democracy and capitalism as synonmous ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590 "2005-01-13T19:59:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590/21 "2005-01-18T01:43:48Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > So so… we were in and out of “democracies” since end 19th century… still it hasn’t been a spectacular run of political democracy. > [@kniz](#): > > **Don’t think that it is a cure all that will work miracles over night.** Americans are famous for our impatience, so I understand that you will say that a century is more than overnight. It is way too long, but that isn’t a reason to give up and say it will never happen. > [@Rshak Mani](#): > > What few people know is that during certain periods Brazil was much more “wealthy” than the US due to top priced commodities during sugar, rubber, etc… I would be interested in knowing more about that, so please supply a cite of the facts. Was it during the time Brazil was a colony or when it was ruled by a dictator? > [@](#): > > I heard a funny story about an american asking a Canadian living in the US what he thought about living in a free country ! jezuz ! As always the US has the best… and the worst ! A joke like that is similar to ones about a resident of one state asking the resident of a neighboring state a dumb question. For instance I could make a joke about someone from Tennessee (in the right situation I could make the same joke about TN). Canada is our neighbor. There is no question about how much freedom Canada has so it is a dumb question. We talk about our freedom more than Canadians do, so that is what tickles the funny bone. Do I think I have more freedom than someone in other democracies? NO, but I won’t apologize about thinking freedom is important, especially my freedom and as an American maybe I talk about it too much. 😉 > [@Liberal](#): > > Even a libertarian society may have a communist economy That seems very reasonable since classic communism is all about doing away with the State. Lenin’s crew said they were only filling in until the peasants were educated in communist doctrine. So maybe a libertariam society may not necessarily have a communist economy(?), but it seems that a communist society would be ultra-libertarian with a communist economy. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590/22 "2005-01-18T13:02:36Z")
> [@kniz](#): > > I would be interested in knowing more about that, so please supply a cite of the facts. Was it during the time Brazil was a colony or when it was ruled by a dictator? It was mostly during the colony and monarchy period afterwards. Gold and overpriced commodities meant a huge boom… that obviously didn’t have many long term effects. As for the “freedom” comment… the issue is not who has more freedom or democracy… but beleiving the US is the only one that has them for real ! ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590/23 "2005-01-18T23:22:13Z")
As I tried to convey to you, I may give the impression that you speak of, but I do not think the US is the only place that freedom or democracy exists. I don’t know of anyone that thinks that’s true. There are some US citizens that don’t know that New Mexico is one of our 50 states. Instead of condemning them, we should pity their ignorance. I have heard some talk saying that Iraq can’t handle democracy or freedom. I don’t buy into this theory and suggest that you investigate just who is making this claim. It may surprise you. Again it is not the feeling of most Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Try\_As\_I\_Might](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Try\_As\_I\_Might](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try_As_I_Might)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590/24 "2005-01-19T00:24:25Z")
I agree with the OP on this. Americans seem to obscure the lines between a capitalistic society and the fundamental rights our government is based upon. However, I also find it very interesting that most Americans (including this thread) refer to our form of government as a democracy. We have a democratic republic–not a representative democracy. It may seem like mincing words, but a Republic is designed to not suffer from the tyranny of the majority. (whether or not it does is a topic for another debate). ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590/25 "2005-01-19T01:49:07Z")
I think your mincing words a bit… 🙂 Federative or Republic democracy… its all down to mechanics a bit. I see similar patterns of how power in congress is spread in the US and in Brazil for example. Where your southern states have greater political sway than their economic clout might warrant for example… so do our backward northeasternern states. Still if most mix up democracy and capitalism… imagine trying to make them understand the difference between representative… or democratic republic. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590/26 "2005-01-19T10:26:08Z")
What about the United Arab Emirates? Isn’t that a capitalist country? Sure there would be some restrictions on corporations, but that also exists in democracies. [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ae.html](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ae.html) “The UAE has an open economy” [http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/country/detail/4375/](http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/country/detail/4375/) “The UAE has resisted any moves towards democracy or political parties…Unlike much of the region, however, UAE is fairly liberal as other cultures and beliefs are generally tolerated. Media outlets generally enjoy freedom of speech…The UAE boasts one of the world’s highest standards of living. Its per capita income is comparable to Western Europe…” And China seems more and more like a capitalist country. It just doesn’t have much freedom of speech but… [http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/e20035/f4.htm](http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/e20035/f4.htm) “there are now 1,000 Chinese billionaires, and 3 million millionaires in China”. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590/27 "2005-01-19T10:40:55Z")
PS. Though that article was in English the currency might be in Chinese Yuans - where US$1 = 8.2 Yuans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-mix-democracy-and-capitalism-as-synonmous/284590.md?page=1)