Upside Down KingdomAll things considered, democracy is a pretty decent system of government, especially when compared to types like dictatorships, absolute monarchies and totalitarian regimes. In a democracy, people have the power to make the decisions that affect their daily lives, as opposed to other governing strategies where power is concentrated in the hands of a few.
But it turns out a constitution-based federal republic is actually quite similar to a direct democracy. Basically, it means that instead of everyone heading to Washington, D.C., to vote on every office, resolution and bill, we elect representatives to go for us.
Democracies, Republics and Royalties Are Nothing New
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The Greeks, of course, had a fairly loose interpretation of democracy, since the key word to determine someones right to vote was "citizen," not "person." Women, slaves, foreigners and males under 18 were all excluded from the ranks of citizenship. This tradition was decidedly popular, and the practice of democratic exclusion continued well into more modern times. Today, various civil rights movements have broadened the potential voting populace for America's democracy.
Royalty is also centuries old. It originated with the feudal systems of medieval Europe. Under feudalism, there were a few very powerful landowners who acquired large amounts of territory through military force or purchase. These landowners became high-ranking lords, and one of them was crowned king. This probably happened through a show of military force or through political machinations, or some combination of the two. Powerful as they were, these lords controlled too much territory to manage on their own. They would name vassals, lower-ranking nobles who were granted some property and whatever income it generated (usually through rents paid by commoners or profits from farming).
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Royalty developed in the Middle East in a slightly different way. While power was still accrued via military and political maneuvering, politics and religion are more intertwined in the Middle East. Royalty is a government in which the attention of a nation is concentrated on one person doing interesting actions. A republic, on the other hand, is a government in which that attention is divided between many who are all doing uninteresting actions. Accordingly, so long as the human heart is strong and the human reason weak, royalty will be strong because it appeals to diffused feelings, and republics/democracies will be weak because they appeal to understanding. What price are we paying for Democracy?
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