# Is Democracy the best form of government? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 25, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373 "2012-07-25T19:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Wulabo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Wulabo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wulabo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373/121 "2012-07-31T07:47:55Z")
Of course it isn’t. That’s why the founding fathers of the American Experiment had the foresight to craft a Constitutional Republic. The safeguards against the dangers of democracy are rife in the Constitution. From the electoral college to the two houses of the Congress. When and where the notion that this is a democracy came from eludes me, but it’s certainly a popular idea. haha. One that has insisted on tearing down the very safeguards against democracy so carefully woven into the original concept of this country. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373/122 "2012-07-31T11:36:16Z")
You’re a democratic republic - fuck we just re-rehashed this up thread. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373/123 "2012-07-31T11:44:26Z")
Democracy as we know it isn’t a problem, the problem is unfettered capitalism - a lot of people are keen to conflate the two. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373/124 "2012-07-31T12:59:36Z")
> [@stardave](#): > > … the GLF happened under Chairman Mao, he had absolute control of the nation, he run it like a personal business, no one can stop what he wanted to do, and it was his sole decisions which doomed China into this tragedy,…Oh yeah Cultural revolution, same thing, Mao did it. That’s my point. You are claiming that benevolent dictatorship is better because the rulers can react quickly to do things that benefit the country and no one can stop them. The trouble is, they can also do things that hurt the country, and no one can stop them. > [@](#): > > Now I don’t’ know if China had became democracy, if they had became free market overnight with shock therapy, can they be equally successful? No one can know Then I guess you don’t have an answer to your own OP either. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373/125 "2012-07-31T15:44:24Z")
> [@Wulabo](#): > > Of course it isn’t. That’s why the founding fathers of the American Experiment had the foresight to craft a Constitutional Republic. The safeguards against the dangers of democracy are rife in the Constitution. From the electoral college to the two houses of the Congress. These were not put into place as safeguards against democracy. The logic behind having two houses is beyond the scope of this thread but, in a nut shell two, having two houses spreads out the power it encompasses and makes it harder for a small group to wield undue influence. The Electoral College was more a result of slavery than safeguards. It allowed Southern states to count slaves in the apportionment of electoral votes without giving them an actual vote. Madison himself preferred a popular vote. Wikipedia has a [good article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_electoral_college#Background). ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373/126 "2012-07-31T16:08:10Z")
[QUOTE=stardave] Whatever I said that you don’t like are by default rambling, and yes, you know what? [/QUOTE] No, your ramblings are ramblings, whether I like them or not. 😛 > [@](#): > > You are right… Well, now that we’ve cleared that up. > [@](#): > > China for the past 30 years are pure evil, no human right, build dam that benefits no one, except for the enjoyment of killing millions in the process, pollutes it is environment for the sake of polluting, falsify economic data to cover up that fact they have indeed not raise 500 million people out of poverty, where there is very few rich elite while 99.9999999999% are surviving like rats. Straw must be on sale this week. You’ve built an army of straw men here, armed with your own rambling and ridiculous hyperbole. > [@](#): > > The fake economic growth benefits no one, in fact it is actually all because of force slavery child labor, yes, they are on the verge of collapse any second now. Every everything that I present to you are communist PR, you are too good, you caught me, please contact your nearest CIA to get me arrest. China bad… USA GOOD 😛 The strawmen are marching two by two huzzah…huzzah! > [@](#): > > Please use more “fuck” words in your next reply. Otherwise, I won’t believe you. Seemingly it’s the only thing in my post you got, so perhaps I should use it more. It’s nice that you were able to understand one word in my post, at least… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-democracy-the-best-form-of-government/629373.md?page=6)