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A Democracy or a Republic?
Fathers so reluctant to give us a pure democracy? In a
democracy, any individual or groups of individuals who
are part of the minority have no protection against the
power of the majority.
A bare democratic majority of 51 percent can take
away the life, liberty, and property of the minority 49
percent. In its extreme form, a lynch mob is a militant
type of democracy. Minorities usually don't fare well
against that type of majority. But it is the Republic
which has provided us a free, stable and prosperous
system with orderly transfers of power for over 200
years.
A republic is very different in form. Its constitution
guarantees the inalienable rights of everyone -- rights
that are basic to the God-given nature· of man and
cannot be taken away by any government.
A
constitutionally limited representative government, with
a written constitution, adopted and changeable by the
people thrqugh amendment -- this is a republic.
Certainly our Founding Fathers saw a difference
between
"equality before the law"
and
''equality of
results."
To them, when government uses force to
transfer property or wealth from one group of citizens
to another, under the guise of promoting equality, then
the liberty of all is endangered.
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