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Some comments on Republics/Democracies/Representative Democracies, changes in the Republican Party in the last 50 years and how they relate to Libertarianism.

My Father's generation of Republicans wanted small government/low tax/minimal interference in private matters. The problem is the Religious extremists in my country have hijacked the Republican party. This process started under Reagan, but has rapidly accelerated since. Basically, the Fundamentalists are well organized and excellent at fund raising. Thus, in my lifetime, the party that campaigned on balanced budgets is now the party of out of control spending and legislating morality through interfering with people's private lives. This Guns and God agenda is part of the neo-conservative agenda. The results of the fundies/neo-cons taking over one of our major parties can easily be seen in our current administration.

The changes in the use of the labels democracy and repulic are part of an historical shift in the use of language. In classical times (Greece/Rome), a Democracy was a political system where all citizens were eligible for government office, and most positions were chosen by lot from the pool of all eligible citizens. A Republic was a system where all eligible citizens could vote for a candidate to represent them. Until the changes brought on by the revolutions of the late 18th century, these terms were used exactly in this way by political theorists. Those of us in Classics and philosophy still tend to use terms these ways.

The formation of the American and to a certain extent the French Revolutionary governments muddied the linguistic waters. The technical terms were used much more loosely, particularly over here, and became confused in the minds of the general public. Subsequent events, such as the use of these terms by wildly different forms of government over the course of two centuries increased the confusion. The phrase "representational democracy" came to mean what Republic still means to those of us in history/philosophy. I believe this was intended to cut down on confusion.

When Libertarians complain that Democracy is a bad thing, they are talking about the tyranny of the many over the few. In Classical Athens, the textbook Democracy, the rule of the many got seriously out of hand. The best politicians and generals were exiled during a period of crisis when they were most needed by the state. (In the period leading up to and during the Peloponnesian War). This lead to political and military disaster and the end of the Athenian Empire as a world power.

Many people interested in political science (me among them) see the American Government as a debate or tug of war between Democracy (as represented by things like voting, petitions, Congress, and the concept of majority rule) and rights (as represented by the constitution and the Supreme Court, and the concept of free speech and the protection of the minority from the majority). It is almost impossible to balance the two, so our government tends to swing back and forth on this continuum.