let me guess, english is not your best subject...?
i wrote..
republic - a political system in which the supreme power lies in a
body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
which BLOODY HELL MEANS THAT YOU VOTE FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL REPRESENT
YOUR VOTE, AND THEN DURING DECISION MAKING, YOU PRAY THAT THEY HAVE
THE SAME POINT OF VIEW AS YOURS.
(in the context of what i thought the word republic meant.)
didn't quite become contrary to what i said earlier now, does
it?
i have not played any word games...
you merely have a weak grasp of the english language.
or you read too fast.
which is kind of odd, to your "CAREFULLY" claim..
=)
however, you did try to clarify the meaning of republic for
me.
at least in what countries think the meaning is...
you see, most countries choose to have the second meaning in my
second post as the basis of their "republic" status.
its the most popular one.
the first definition rarely comes up in the dictionary.
why?
its more in the context of the USA.
democrat and republican.
there, my definition is is almost correct.*
however, internationally, republic is just plain old, "a non-
monarchial type of country."
which is why i posted two meanings,
to avoid the confusion.
in the first meaning, switzerland would be simply a
democracy,
in the second meaning, switzerland would be a federal republic, and
thus a republic..
*i mean, why would there be a difference between the two,
if republic is simply a non monarchial type of government.
so is democracy.
yet they are two seperate parties!
meaning that their definition of a republic is not just simply
that....
I would like to add my two cents' worth:
A Republic is NOT a political SYSTEM. It is the arrangement of
political leaders and heads-of-state. It is the manner a country
decides to organize its political unit. Apollo said:
republic - a political system in
which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect
people to represent them
But your definition could just as well define the word
'democracy'
democracy -a political system in which the supreme power lies in a
body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
So is a republic a democracy? The answer is obviously an emphatic
NO since many non-democratic countries are republics as Silverkris
pointed out earlier.
Examples of political systems include: democracy, theocracy,
monarchy, stratocracy, plutocracy, oligarchy etc. "Republic" is not
one of them. It may also interest you that for political
scientists, academia and economists, communism is less a political
system, than an economic system. Many users in this forum use
'communism' loosely of course when referring to the "communist
governments" in China, Cuba or North Korea.
I used the dictionary as well:
re·pub·lic ( P ) Pronunciation
Key (r-pblk)
n.
A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in
modern times is usually a president.
A nation that has such a political order.
A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of
citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives
responsible to them.
Both meanings appear in all 4 dictionaries I looked up even though
you say "the first definition rarely comes up in the dictionary."
And then you appear to contradict yourself when you then go on to
add "however, internationally, republic is just plain old, "a non-
monarchial type of country." as if to suggest the first meaning is
the more common and regular one too.
The differences in meanings between 'system' and 'order' are subtle
but crucial. The two do not mean the same thing if one is
pedantic.
From your first post:
"DEMOCRACY?
WHAT DEMOCRACY?
FOR HELL'S SAKE,
ITS A BLOODY REPUBLIC!!
BESIDES CHOOSING THE LEADER,
WHAT ELSE DO YOU VOTE FOR?
IF YOU CAN VOTE ON ISSUES,
ITS A DEMOCRACY"
Surely you don't expect others to conclude from that post that
you really mean to say:
heard of alternate definitions?
republic - a political system in which the supreme power lies in a
body of citizens who can elect people to represent them .
I think not, and that was what Silverkris was trying to point
out. Your second post and what you purport to claim comes out of
the blue. A democracy is really about having the right to vote for
leaders in an election. It's less about voting for 'issues'. I
think what you were trying to refer to is a 'referendum'. As you
acknowledged yourself in the second post, in a democracy, elected
leaders are given the responsibility to decide on issues in the
interests of the country. They do not leave to the citizens who
elected them to decide on every issue. However if they do, they
hold a referendum.
Even in democracies, national referendums are RARELY held. Those
which have occurred are politically significant like voting to join
the EU (many East European countries), or voting to become
independent (East Timor), or voting to become a republic
(Australia).
Lastly, the origins of the Democratic and Republican parties have
little to do with their literal meanings. For the Republican party
in the US, it was borne out of deep-seated beliefs in liberalism
and anti-slavery in the mid-1850s. The manner in which the first
definition is structured has absolutely nothing to do with it
despite your claims.
Cheers.
