# What is a functioning democracy and why I suspect it's an empty, ignorant term **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 10, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995 "2014-02-10T18:04:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/41 "2014-02-11T12:55:59Z")
At the end of the day, far too often when you read the phrase: “functioning democracy”, the meaning is: “one that functions the way the writer would like it to function”. Whether or not there’s sugar in the porridge. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/42 "2014-02-12T02:27:11Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Assad’s (the father) Syria (with Alawites protected) fits. And there were elections, even 🙂 Was it a democracy? Moreso than an anarchic state engulfed in civil war. My description was more targeted on “functional.” Pure democracy isn’t functional at all. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/43 "2014-02-12T02:40:11Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > None of that makes it democratic and could possibly make you think that it’s government is “more-or-less popular”? > > You’ve heard of the Green Revolution haven’t you? > > If they were popular they wouldn’t constantly have to rig elections and disqualify all the candidates who beat their hand-picked puppets. > > So, once again, what makes you label them “democratic.” Only “nearest thing”; at any rate a nearer thing to participatory democracy than what they had under the Shah. By “more-or-less popular” I meant that from what I’ve read, there is a very substantial minority in Iran, more than 25% of the general population, which is still passionately supportive of the Islamic Republic in its present form in the ready-to-die-for-it sense. They’re in coalition, as it were, with the go-along-to-get-along majority/plurality who don’t want their society disrupted. If the Green Revolutionaries could appeal to the latter, they would have won – or set off a full-on civil war. If it comes to the latter, that 25% is not giving up immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/44 "2014-02-12T02:51:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Only “nearest thing”; at any rate a nearer thing to participatory democracy than what they had under the Shah. By “more-or-less popular” I meant that from what I’ve read, there is a very substantial minority in Iran, more than 25% of the general population, which is still passionately supportive of the Islamic Republic in its present form in the ready-to-die-for-it sense. They’re in coalition, as it were, with the go-along-to-get-along majority/plurality who don’t want their society disrupted. If the Green Revolutionaries could appeal to the latter, they would have won – or set off a full-on civil war. If it comes to the latter, that 25% is not giving up immediately. Lots of Black South Africans would strongly object to your logic. For that matter I’m sure many Iranians who lived under the Shah would object to your logic. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/45 "2014-02-12T03:40:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > As H.L. Mencken put it: “Democracy is the idea that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard!” I prefer Churchill: “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” Democracy does have a major advantage that makes it work better than non-democratic systems: it unites power and self-interest on a mass scale. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/46 "2014-02-12T04:52:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I prefer Churchill: “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” I would prefer some evidence to back up this often made assertion. By what metric are they the best? For sheer improvement in the life of the largest number of governed in the shortest possible time, the Chinese version of one party rule has to be the winner. In terms of stability or popularity, democracies are a very young form of government and they’ve been stable almost exclusively in a small subset of countries that were rich/powerful before they were democratic. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/47 "2014-02-12T06:50:38Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > I would prefer some evidence to back up this often made assertion. By what metric are they the best? For sheer improvement in the life of the largest number of governed in the shortest possible time, the Chinese version of one party rule has to be the winner. In terms of stability or popularity, democracies are a very young form of government and they’ve been stable almost exclusively in a small subset of countries that were rich/powerful before they were democratic. As a system, democracies tend to work better than non-democracies. Sure, you might be able to find an example of a non-demographic government working but for every example of it working, you’re going to find dozens of examples of the same system not working. With democracy, working government is the usual result not the rare exception. And the key factor is what I alluded to. Governments generally serve the interests of those who control the government. So while a dictatorship or a hereditary monarchy or an aristocracy or a theocracy might serve the good of the people, it’s a lot more likely the government will end up serving the interests of the dictator or the hereditary monarch or the aristocracy or the religious leadership. Democracy avoids this by giving control of the government to the majority of the people. So when the government serves the interests of its controllers, it ends up serving the interests of the majority of the people. The majority is not going to allow the government that they control to harm them. It’s not a perfect system. Sometimes that majority will screw over a minority. Sometimes the majority fails to see what its best interests are. But any flaw that a democracy can make can equally be made by a non-democracy. As for a metric, here’s a [list of countries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality-of-life_Index) with the highest quality of life. You’ll see the overwhelming majority of them have democratic governments. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/48 "2014-02-12T07:31:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > As for a metric, here’s a [list of countries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality-of-life_Index) with the highest quality of life. You’ll see the overwhelming majority of them have democratic governments. There is no evidence(that I know of) to suggest that democracy has caused the better quality of life that you point to. I can also note that most of the countries on the top of that list have a history of invading/conquering/looting/colonising others, and that is far more exclusive to the top of the list than democracy. The institutions of good government can come from just being rich, not necessarily being democratic. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/49 "2014-02-12T07:34:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > As a system, democracies tend to work better than non-democracies. Sure, you might be able to find an example of a non-demographic government working but for every example of it working, you’re going to find dozens of examples of the same system not working. With democracy, working government is the usual result not the rare exception. And this gets back to the heart of this thread I think. If you define a democracy as the ones that work, then sure they work more than others. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/50 "2014-02-12T08:09:15Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > And this gets back to the heart of this thread I think. If you define a democracy as the ones that work, then sure they work more than others. You of course ignored the fact that after this paragraph he linked to a list of countries with the highest standards of living, most of which are democracies. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/51 "2014-02-12T08:44:40Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > You of course ignored the fact that after this paragraph he linked to a list of countries with the highest standards of living, most of which are democracies. Actually, no, you ignored the post in which I address that. ---
**Author:** ![Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/aca169/32.png) [@Inbred\_Mm\_domesticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inbred_Mm_domesticus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/52 "2014-02-12T18:50:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think there are three key factors in having a functioning democracy: > > 1. _People are reasonably able to vote._ You have to have a reasonably broad electorate. There have to be regular elections. There can’t be intimidation or retaliation based on voting. > 2. _People are reasonably able to run for elections._ Your elections have to offer the voters choices. You can’t have oppressive controls over who’s allowed to run for office. As with voting, running for office has to be free from intimidation and retaliation. > 3. _Elected officials have to have genuine power._ There’s no point in having a democratic system if the people who are elected have only symbolic or advisory power. Didn’t you define what can simply be stated as a democracy? Success at democracy is the degree to which a form of government aspires to these three goals. If we were to partition nations into functioning and non-functioning democracies, then there would be no nations on the functioning side because these three goals have yet to be fully or reasonably met by anything but small groups of people. > [@hansel](#): > > What I recall from poli-sci 101 is that a liberal democracy … functioning democracy because the presidential … I think you are the second person I have come across who seemed to be using liberal and functioning democracy as interchangeable terms. Are they the same thing and can you point me to the academic definition? > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > But there has to be a test of sorts if one is going to say a country is no longer a functioning democracy, i.e. establishing what “functional democracy” characteristics a country once had but has now lost. Without context, it’s a meaningless comment. I think the term is meaningless and I started the thread to either confirm my opinion or have somebody come along and use their knowledge to give me the appropriate context to understand how this term is used. I was planning to obstinately argue with such a person in the beginning but slowly give in by degrees, and thus be the first person to change their opinion in a single thread in great debates but all my plans are ruined now. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > At the end of the day, far too often when you read the phrase: “functioning democracy”, the meaning is: “one that functions the way the writer would like it to function”. > > Whether or not there’s sugar in the porridge. Thank-you for putting it better than I did. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/53 "2014-02-12T19:16:15Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > I’m wondering if we’re confusing “Democracy” with a “Republic”. A Republic is governance _by the people_ as opposed to governance by the elite. So a Democracy is a sunset of the various Republic forms. The United States is a Representative Democracy, the people themselves don’t vote on every little issue (although lately neither do our elected representatives [grin]). Other way around: a republic is a sub-set of democracy. [Democracy](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy?s=t) is rule by the people, a [republic](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Republic?s=t) is specifically rule by the people through their elected representatives. > [@bldysabba](#): > > The institutions of good government can come from just being rich, not necessarily being democratic. Any examples of that? Since democracy is just rule by the people, to my mind a functional democracy at the national level (where direct democracy is impractical) is one in which the people are able to select their rulers, and periodically have the opportunity to freely re-elect them, or to elect anyone else of their choice. A non-functional democracy would be characterized by a minority invalidating the choice of the people (such as a coup), the suspension of elections, an election process so flawed or corrupt that the people’s favored candidates aren’t able to win, or the political process being restricted so that all adult citizens don’t have an equal say in choosing their leaders. Under this definition, Iran isn’t a democracy (as people aren’t able to vote for candidates of their choice), the U.S. is, and Egypt briefly was until the coup. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/54 "2014-02-12T20:33:54Z")
I have heard - and know enough supporting examples to believe it may be true - that the US is the only constitutionally unlimited democracy on earth. That is, many other nations are nominally democracies and their constitution or governing documents contain many of the same elements as the US version, but somewhere in each is a gotcha - an option that allows the head of state or legislative body to seize power and suspend the rights that make it a democracy. In utter emergencies, of course. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/55 "2014-02-12T22:16:41Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Any examples of that? The entire western world? I’m trying to point out that there has been no demonstration of causation where democracy and high quality of life are concerned, and enough examples point in the other direction too. Countries that swing in and out of democracy, countries that have been democracies for reasonably long periods of time with little to show for it except terribly bad governance. The countries that are rich and enjoy a high quality of life today and that Nemo pointed to as some sort of evidence for the ‘goodness’ of democracy were generally well along the path to being rich by the time they also became democracies. Given that places like China and Singapore have demonstrated that you can become rich and raise standards of living in MUCH shorter periods of time without democracy, I demand better evidence than mere correlation with high quality of life for the too often unchallenged statement that democracy is the best form of government we have. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/56 "2014-02-12T22:19:21Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I have heard - and know enough supporting examples to believe it may be true - that the US is the only constitutionally unlimited democracy on earth. That is, many other nations are nominally democracies and their constitution or governing documents contain many of the same elements as the US version, but somewhere in each is a gotcha - an option that allows the head of state or legislative body to seize power and suspend the rights that make it a democracy. > > In utter emergencies, of course. How does this stuff fit in with your worldview? > **[State of emergency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_emergency#United_States)** > > A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, or after a natural disaster, civil unrest, armed conflict, medical pandemic or epidemic or other biosecurity risk. > Under international law, rights and freedoms may be suspended during a state of emergency, depending on the severity of the emergency and a go... > [@](#): > > In the United States, there are several methods for government response to emergency situations. A state governor or local mayor may declare a state of emergency within his or her jurisdiction. This is common at the state level in response to natural disasters. > The president of the United States, as head of the executive branch, has the implied authority to declare a national state of emergency. The only emergency provisions in the U.S. Constitution are:[41] “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it[,]” a Section I grant of power giving Congress the sole authority to suspend the writ;[42] and an exemption from the privilege of a grand jury hearing for cases arising in the military when in service in a time of “public danger”. > Habeas corpus was suspended on April 27, 1861 during the American Civil War by Abraham Lincoln in parts of Maryland and some midwestern states, including southern Indiana. He did so in response to demands by generals to set up military courts to rein in “copperheads”, those in the Union who supported the Confederate cause. Lambdin P. Milligan and four others were accused of planning to steal Union weapons and invade Union prisoner-of-war camps, and were sentenced to hang by a military court in 1864. However, their execution was not set until May 1865, so they were able to argue the case after the Civil War. It was decided in the Supreme Court case Ex parte Milligan 71 US 2 1866 that the suspension was unconstitutional because civilian courts were still operating, and the Constitution only provided for suspension of habeas corpus if these courts are actually forced closed. > On December 16, 1950, during the Korean War, President Truman issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2914,[43] declaring a state of national emergency.[44] The Supreme Court ruling in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer established, in 1952, that presidents may not act contrary to Acts of Congress during an emergency. > The 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act allows freezing of assets, limiting of trade, and confiscation of property during a declared emergency. > A federal emergency declaration allows the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to exercise its power to deal with emergency situations; federal assistance also becomes available to areas that are declared to be in a state of emergency. For FEMA, emergency declarations are different from the more common disaster declarations done for hurricanes and floods. Typically, a state of emergency empowers the executive to name coordinating officials to deal with the emergency and to override normal administrative processes regarding the passage of administrative rules. > The United States is formally in an ongoing limited state of emergency declared by several Presidents for several reasons. A state of emergency began on January 24, 1995 with the signing of Executive Order 12947 [5] by President Bill Clinton. In accordance with the National Emergencies Act, the executive order’s actual effect was not a declaration of a general emergency, but a limited embargo on trade with “Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process”.[45] This “national emergency” was expanded in 1998 to include additional targets such as Osama bin Laden,[46] and has been continued to at least 2008 by order of President George W. Bush.[47] There are a number of other ongoing national emergencies of this type,[48][49] regarding for instance diamond trade with Sierra Leone. Especially noteworthy are the ongoing states of emergency declared on November 14, 1979 regarding the Iran hostage crisis,[50] that declared on March 15, 1995 with respect to Iran,[51] and that declared on September 14, 2001 through Bush’s Proclamation 7463, regarding the September 11 attacks.[52] > President Barack Obama extended George W. Bush’s Declaration of Emergency regarding terrorism on September 10, 2009,[53] on September 10, 2010,[54] on September 9, 2011,[55] and on September 11, 2012.[56] > President Barack Obama extended the Declaration of Emergency on November 12, 2013, citing continued conflicts in Iran.[57] ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/57 "2014-02-12T22:27:01Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Any examples of that? Here’s a specific example - the parliament of England > [@](#): > > The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief (a person who held land) and ecclesiastics before making laws. In 1215, the tenants-in-chief secured Magna Carta from King John, which established that the king may not levy or collect any taxes (except the feudal taxes to which they were hitherto accustomed), save with the consent of his royal council, which gradually developed into a parliament. > Over the centuries, the English Parliament progressively limited the power of the English monarchy which arguably culminated in the English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I in 1649 It had nothing to do with democracy, yet was part of a governing institution that eventually morphed into the democracy that people see today and go “Ha! Great governance!”, whereas really it could just be coming from being rich/powerful/isolated enough to have largely uninterrupted institutional evolution. British courts are a similar institution. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/58 "2014-02-12T23:46:27Z")
> [@bldysabba](#): > > The entire western world? I’m trying to point out that there has been no demonstration of causation where democracy and high quality of life are concerned, and enough examples point in the other direction too. Countries that swing in and out of democracy, countries that have been democracies for reasonably long periods of time with little to show for it except terribly bad governance. > The countries that are rich and enjoy a high quality of life today and that Nemo pointed to as some sort of evidence for the ‘goodness’ of democracy were generally well along the path to being rich by the time they also became democracies. Given that places like China and Singapore have demonstrated that you can become rich and raise standards of living in MUCH shorter periods of time without democracy, I demand better evidence than mere correlation with high quality of life for the too often unchallenged statement that democracy is the best form of government we have. Let me clarify - can you define what the “institutions of good government” are, and point to a rich nation that has them but isn’t a democracy? ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/59 "2014-02-13T06:06:08Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Other way around: a republic is a sub-set of democracy. [Democracy](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy?s=t) is rule by the people, a [republic](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Republic?s=t) is specifically rule by the people through their elected representatives. I’m not sure how important this is but for what it’s worth you are both wrong. A republic may or may not be a democracy and vice versa. Read the definitions you linked again. A democracy is governed by the people either directly or by electing representatives. A republic in its broadest form is any government not headed by a king or other hereditary monarch but more specifically means a government of elected representatives. But it doesn’t mean those officials are elected by, and responsible to, the people at large. If the franchise were limited to individuals who payed at least $25K a year in taxes then that is a republic but not a democracy. Oligarchies are traditionally republics. But our republic does have a wide enough base (even though there are plenty of people who are not enfranchised) that I would say that the United States of America does qualify as a democracy. For me the question of “functioning” then is, does the system work in service of and in response to popular pressures. I think America does qualify but I fully understand those who disagree on the grounds that our corrupt system serves the elite first and sometimes only. ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995/60 "2014-02-13T06:15:08Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Other way around: a republic is a sub-set of democracy. [Democracy](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy?s=t) is rule by the people, a [republic](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Republic?s=t) is specifically rule by the people through their elected representatives. The Republic/Democracy thing in the U.S. always struck me as odd. In most of the world, a Republic is a nation without a monarch (definition 3 on that list). You can have democracies that aren’t republics (UK), republics that aren’t democracies (China), nations that are republics and democracies (Mexico), and nations that are neither (Saudi Arabia). In the U.S., some people, especially on the right it seems, seem to have some sort of mythical view of a Republic as a representative democracy with a limited government and whatever other qualities they see as positive. But that’s just not how most of the world uses the term. As for what constitutes a functional democracy, I would pretty much echo Little Nemo. Most people need to be able to reasonably vote (without intimidation, etc.), most people need to be able to reasonably run for office or otherwise be involved in the political process, and elections need to genuinely affect the political course of the nation [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-functioning-democracy-and-why-i-suspect-its-an-empty-ignorant-term/680995.md?page=4)