think carefully about this question.

look up the defintion of democracy (hint greek words "demos" and "kratia")

look around the US landscape and see if that definition fits what you see and feel.

The difficulty of course will be to avoid the decades of propaganda that has been drummed into peoples heads.

The results of this poll will reflect this intense level of propaganda in the USA today

Let see what happens

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Supreme Executive for the I.S.S.F

'Democracy is a system of government by which political sovereignty is retained by the people and either exercised directly by citizens or through their elected representatives'

demokratia = 'popular government'

First 2 sentences of wikipedia been doing our reading haven't we fooly.

Does america have a popular government? Not as popular as it should be no. Do they get to elect representatives? yes.

So the answer to the question is yes the U.S is a democrasy.

Case closed. = )

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Left sucks! so visit our new group! Obama is a Joke!

Well as far as I know we are supposed to be living in a Democratic republic. If you look at our current day Political landscape and look at how the Government and economic industrial complex work together to elevate the upper 10% only , then you might think we live in a fascist country! if we get into talking about Dick&Bush and our global policies , then it is confirmed. Get these traitors out of office and start the trials!

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EVERY WORD YOU SAY IS A DOOR WAY TO YOU!

What definition of democracy are you using? Direct Democracy, Representative??

Honestly, the US is a Republic whereby the people elect others to represent them in a legislator.....

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I'll tell you this no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn

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"It's the rich people's fault they earn more." - Makedde

We're not as direct a democracy as some places, but we are a representative democracy (or democratic republic), and I believe that is the best fit for this country. Direct democracy can only work when you have a small, homogenous population. Even then you risk falling into what Madison (I think it was Madison) referred to as "The tyranny of the few," a condition in which control of the government falls into the hands of loud, obnoxiuos (and possibly violent) special interests. You do not want a system in which the people can have whatever they want so long as they can get enough names on a petition. Not necessarily because, as some would put it, The People are idiots, but because The People tend to be shortsighted and self-interested. You need people at a higher level to be held accountable.

And it's also virtually impossible to get anything of real importance done in an overly democratic system because it's hard enough to get a gaggle of senators to agree on something; imagine trying to get 300 million to do the same. Just wouldn't work. If we were waiting on the American people to popularly vote away all of society's ills, women would still not be able to vote, slavery would still be going strong in the South, and segregation would still be prevalent in the North.

Would this member please post in example evidence which conclusively proves that the US government under George Bush has coluded with the "economic industrial complex work together to elevate the upper 10% only."

If this member fails to do so I will conclude that the member is by ommission withdrawing this absurd assertion.

He is however correct that the US is a Democratic Republic.

It is not a Social Democracy and it is not because the framers of the US specifically rejected this form of government, as they considered what form of government the US would utilized.

Social Democracy is an absurd notion which requires the citizenry to vote on all matters of state. A quick read of just this board is conclusive evidence that most people are at best, ill-equipped, to even join discussions of such matters, let alone casting votes which will determine the nation's course.

A simple look at the rise of Hussein Obama, a man with absolutely no qualifications worthy of consideration is now the leading candidate by the party which represents roughly half of the voting public. Imagine if this block of fools were tasked with voting on matters of state.

The nation would be bankrupt inside a generation.

This country is a Republic which is governed by the rule of law.


E.Pluribus Unum

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E.Pluribus Unum

People of power have NO good will and people of good will have NO power.

If you think Education is Expensive try Ignorance.

In the formal sense of course, the US, like my country the UK, is considered to be a democracy. But any understanding of the term makes the US case for its democratic credentials, almost laughable. In my view, the extent to which any nation is deemed to be democratic or not rests on whether it is democratic in terms of OUTCOME not FORM as I have described it. So Cuba, for example, contrary to popular mythology, is far more democratic than the US because Fidel's regime is far more more accountable and responsive to its population than the regime in the Whitehouse is.

In this sense, whether one has the opportunity to vote once every 4 or 5 years is not necessarily the measure of whether a nation is democratic or not, but rather whether the people concerned benefit in a real material way as the result of democratic accountability, transparency and social cohesiveness. All social indicators point to the fact that Cuba trumps the US in relation to the latter but that US trumps Cuba in relation to the former.

But ask most Cuban's whether they would prefer to vote once every few years for almost identical political candidates who prioritise corporate interests in the name of liberal democracy, or continue on the path of their excellent socially cohesive society under the guise of democratic socialism, and they would undoubtably answer to the latter. For the vast majority of the Cuban people, Fidel's regime represents the apex of a democratic socialist society which is far more responsive to their needs than the regime that lies 90 kilometres away is responsive to the needs of the American people.

And yet they're willing to risk life and limb paddling on rafts made out of inflated raincoats just to get over here. Can't blame it all on the embargo.