Democracy and Republic:
~  An Analysis  ~
(Also see NOTATION below for clarification)

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NEW   BYZANTIUM   is  The  AMERICAS
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    The worth of a civilization is in part  measured by its resistance to stagnation and by its threshold of tolerance for change and its ability to absorb extraneous influences that contribute to its durability and evolution.

Western Civilization displays the above characteristics, albeit, included in its makeup as part of human behavior, exists the not so infrequent element of error.  Considered in this context, the continuity of Western thought and way of life are perceived as an uninterrupted stream of behavior with definable roots in the Hellenistic, Hebraic, and Roman past, and with considerable influence from the Arab, Asian, and also African quarters.

The more evident signs of this amalgamation were manifested through Alexander the Great, followed by the Roman influence and later by Byzantium -- an evolutionary  mixture of Hellenistic and Roman identity.  The inevitable outcome was the  continuation of institutionalized behavior.  The populations grew and expanded westward, resulting in what is now in the Western Hemisphere.

The latter bears resemblance to its most recent significant predecessor, namely, Byzantium.  Europe was itself the child of that previous larger world.  The feudalistic and regal systems of Europe were  a deliberate imitation of a perceived enviable system of governance that had begun with Constantine the Great and evolved through his successors.   At this point, however, the magnificent child of the West adopts an innovative form to govern itself:

Its essence remains intact with all the identifiable characteristics of its heredity.  Although it moves forward in full strength as the New Byzantium in the New World, it attempts a bold modification in its form of government.   It retains the principal desire for human freedom, yet institutes order in the implementation of that freedom.  In other words, it salvages its predilection for democracy, while at the same time it provides against the propensity for a "free for all" on the pretext of that democracy.

Most eminent in this new arrangement is the United State of America with its founding of the Republic and with its radiating influence throughout the Western Hemisphere [it appears diminishing to characterize the American model of government as a mere "experiment," unique as it may be.  It was a full-fledged design engineered by serious and competent visionaries on the strength of their accumulated combined experience and study].  What is significant, however, is the type of republic that it established.

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    The word democracy describes a concept that is absolute.  Nothing can be appended to the word to qualify its nature further.  The etymology of the word is clear: the Greek word "demos" means "the people" and "kratos "(-cracy) means "rule" (suggestive of power). The two words combine to render the singular message, "power of the people."  There exist no gradations or shades of democracy.  Due to its fundamental meaning, however, democracy as a word and as a concept may itself be a qualifier of other words or concepts.  It is redundant to use the term "representative democracy" because democracy is by its own nature representative.  Danger underlies inaccurate verbiage in that it subordinates the concept of democracy to the concept of representation.  This dilutes the power of the people as the primary source of authority: It tends to exaggerate the power entrusted in the representatives of the people instead of strengthening the people's authority the representatives are delegated to serve.

The basis of assignment of public servants to any post, elected or appointed, is the power of the people.  This function is conducted by democratic means, which renders effective the social and political system in the United States of America.  Furthermore, the decisions reached by the representatives of the power of the people are reached by democratic means of deliberation and voting.  This further accentuates the presence of democracy in the Nation.  The Constitution of the United States of America begins with the words, "We the People . . . ."  It does not say, "we the representatives of the people."

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    The United States of America is based on a democracy that uses a specific governing mechanism to make the system work.  Democracy itself as a governing method in a population of millions is a physical impossibility -- excepting Divine intervention.  No governing system exists, even by engaging the highest technology, that can analyze, evaluate, and coordinate the thoughts and wishes of each and every individual.  The American method provides for this inadequacy by delegating to a reduced number of persons the task of making the desired decisions.  The method involved is the establishment of the Republic.

Unlike a democracy, however, a republic, as both a concept and a word, can be  enhanced through other qualifying concepts and words.*  There are variations in the types of republics that may exist. The American system may be described with accuracy as a Democratic Republic.  The qualifier in this case is the word democratic.  It may also be referenced as a Constitutional Republic—a redundancy, since a republic is a device set forth by a ruling instrument.  Other alternatives that may exist are: Oligarchic Republic or  representative government whose delegates are appointed by the few who control the majority of the people; Plutocratic Republic whose delegates are appointed by the wealthy; Autocratic Republic whose delegates are appointed by one person; Technocratic  or Bureaucratic Republic whose delegates are the work of special power interests entrenched in government; and, so forth.

It is in this area that the American system is sensitive: Citizens are under constant obligation to monitor and control their delegated representatives (both elected and appointed) in order to retain the strength, effectiveness, and purity of their system of government.  A democracy must be strong in order for a republic to be strong.  To discredit democracy is to exaggerate the true function of a republic—in order to inflate the significance of the delegated servants of government.  This, in time, tends to obscure the distinction between the authority of government and of those who serve that authority, which in actual terms rests in the power of the people. 

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CONCLUSION

It is vague and inadequate to identify a nation such as the United States of America as only a Republic: It is always necessary to specify the type of republic that is involved.  The United States has adopted what appears to be the optimum  system of a Democratic Republic.  A deviation can downgrade the system to a lower level of governance of an oligarchic, then plutocratic, and soon thereafter of an autocratic republic.  The integrity of the system, therefore, is crucial in the maintenance of the cultural setting within which the Republic survives.  

The setting in this instance is the inherited continuity of Western Civilization evolved from the Old World in its maximum outreach to the New World or NEW BYZANTIUM.  Many aspects of this continuing Civilization are present and active to this day, including the tendency to welcome and to assimilate contributions of other cultures and systems.  It is unreasonable, therefore, for some cultures to advocate the destruction of the Western world, whereas they too  have a stake in it and have the chance to continue to do so.

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*Similar to an oxymoron, often grounded in allegory but never in logic, the notion of Constitutional Democracy is also illogical (cf., bitter sweetness).

Democracy is a state of being and, as characterized above, absolute in nature: It is not a devised method of governance but rather a tendency toward which society leans in the collective struggle of individual wills.  On the other hand, a constitutional arrangement is a specific design created by the will or power of the people (i.e., democracy) for the purpose of establishing a form of government.

It is not possible for the created to give existence to the creator.  Therefore, democracy—a creative absolute, fundamental and inimitable in nature—can not be compared or qualified as being of a certain type.  That which can be qualified is the type of governance the democracy (i.e., the will or power of the people) has created.

By: Mark Athanasios C. Karras, Ph.D.

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NOTATION:
NEW BYZANTIUM response to a commentary posted in biocrawler.com/encyclopedia
[See: http://www.biocrawler.com/encyclopedia/Talk:Democracy/Archive_3#Democracy]

       This enclosure contains the entire comment as posted in biocrawler.com:

Democracy           The term Democracy: The essence of the term term is absolute and thus not subject to           qualification by other terms (i.e., direct or indirect democracy). This position is articulated            in the following reference: http://www.New-Byzantium.org / Table of Contents / An Analysis.                                 Mark Athanasios C. Karras [authored  An Analysis, but not  this editorial appraisal]                                                     _____________________           I understand, but disagree. Very few terms are absolute, often because the things they           describe are not atomic. From infinity to unique to, indeed, the atom, the use of           qualified modifiers to circumscribe the meaning of the absolute modifier is helpful, and           often required for understanding. Also, these terms have widely accepted meanings,           each of which could garner its own wiki article. Chrisvls 22:48, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC).                                                                                   (scroll down for NEW BYZANTIUM response)

 
                 
                        NEW BYZANTIUM response:

Enhanced understanding:                The essence of Democracy (not the term) is a state of being that is absolute.  Its       force is direct.  It exists in whole or it does not exist at all (cf. the pedestrian adage:       one cannot be "a little pregnant").       Functional representation applies to governance, as distinguished from intrinsic       representation in Democracy.  It is indirect and its structure and meaning may vary—       for example, a functioning  Republic that governs and changes.       Of interest would be a roster of the “very few terms [that] are absolute.”

Expansion of Western Civilization: from Constantine the Great to Constantinople and Byzantium and onward to America

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