Is the USA a Democracy or a Republic?

Since the Jan 6 attack on the US Capitol in 2021, some Americans have increasingly insisted that their country is not a democracy, but a republic. What’s the difference? Why is democracy having such a hard time at the moment and would randomly picking members of parliament help?

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00:00 Intro
00:53 Democracy Meaning
02:31 Republic Meaning
04:08 How Anti-Democratic Norms Can Spread
06:05 Issues with the US voting system
10:21 Issues with Democracy in General
13:02 The Future of Democracy
14:28 Learn Science with Brilliant

#science #democracy #usa

[SabineHossenfelder]

This video comes with a quiz which you can take here:


You can now also create your own quizzes on my website!

By the way, thanks for everyone who has pointed out there's a hum in the audio. I have fixed the problem now, but the entire batch from last week has it. Hum will disappear on Wednesday.

[JustFor-dqwc]

Its logical fallacy called false alternative. Politicians abuse it very often. Why? Because its powerful tool of manipulation.
Limited choices, oversimplification, pressure to choose.

Sabine makes a mistake when explaining why a US presidential candidate who wins the popular vote (like Hillary) can lose the election based on the total number of votes in the Electoral College. The reason IS NOT the disproportionality in the number of delegates per state of the Union in the Electoral College (this exists, but...); the reason is that the winner in a state takes all the delegates and not a proportion of them based on the vote received there.

[Thomas..Anderson]

Who else notices Elon not calling Sabine as often as he did in the past.

[dirtbird]

Well no doubt this often comes up because of the well known and well documented story of our first constitutional convention in 1787.
Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"
" A Republic if you can keep it"

[BMDUSA]

The “republic not a democracy” talking point has existed for a lot longer than January 6.

[samuelm]

In Australia we've had a fascinating trend that started a few years ago when a few independent members and political outsiders became 'king-makers' in an minority Parliament. The Opposition called it chaos and voters more or less hated it, but it became one of the most productive Governments we ever had. Voters swept out most of the independents and leading party at the next election, but a few election cycles later we have a new wave of independents and third parties taking the political landscape by storm. The major parties hate it, but voters seemed to have gotten comfortable with electing their local independent community hero and rejecting major party hacks.

[mheermance]

I think one reason US citizens try to draw a distinction is that the US founders were against simple majority rule.This was to avoid the two wolves and a sheep discussing dinner plans phenomenon. So they built a system that thwarted the majority's ability to enforce its will on the minority through the bill of rights. Hence the constitutional republic getting emphasized in civics education. Also, the increase in executive power and executive orders is a big reason for the current distrust between the political parties. Winning the presidential election effectively grants one party executive and law making ability.

[marcusdocarmo]

Your videos and opinions in so many different subjects are always great. We’re living a weird moment in human history where the stupidity prevails. It’s fresh and gives as hope to see there’s still hope for mankind. Thank you

[cyrilio]

Idiocracy is basically a documentary by now.

[kuribojim]

It is both. Democracy OR Republic is a category error.

[DeanHorak]

The US is both.

We are a democracy because we elect our government.

We are a republic because our government is run by representatives.

[ingolister]

Loved your synopsys of our current democracy status. The last line (before ad tags) "choose wisely" is the most appropriate. I always enjoy your work, Thanks.

[walkabout]

A plutocracy is a form of government where the wealthy hold power and influence, either directly or indirectly. The term comes from the Greek words “ploutos” (wealth) and “kratos” (power). In a plutocracy, the ruling class is composed of individuals whose power derives from their wealth.

Historically, examples of plutocracies include the Roman Empire and certain city-states in Ancient Greece, such as Carthage and Venice. In modern times, some critics argue that certain countries, like the United States, exhibit characteristics of a plutocracy due to the significant influence of wealthy individuals and corporations on politics

[Onionbagel]

It's a constitutional republic, not a standard one. There is a difference.

[Patrick-kqfy]

We are a federal republic under a constitution with a separate executive branch not selected by a parliament but by the People.
We also do not have a "House of Lords" or a party selected legislature (eg, China), but a bicameral legislature where the interests of the People are represented in one house (The House of Representatives) and the States in the other (The Senate).
The system ensures that the minority are protected by multiple checks and balances from the tyranny of the majority.
That's US Civics in a nutshell.

[Ixnatifual]

"Ankh-Morpork had dallied with many forms of government and had ended up with that form of democracy known as One Man, One Vote. The Patrician was the Man; he had the Vote."

[ManuelReynamanuelmreyna]

Loved your video, however, there is a mistake. The main reason why Hillary Clinton lost is not due to difference of representation in each state, but because the winner takes all in each one. Overrepresented states (low population states) are relatively well distributed among republicans and democrats. However, Trump won by a small margin in his largest states (Texas and Florida) while Clinton won by a large margin in her largest states (California and New York). The extra votes she got there are basically worthless, since winning half of all votes is enough to win all electors in the state.

[lelouchlamperouge]

'America is not a democracy, it's a plutocracy.' - Noam Chomsky

[RPaton]

Yuri Bezmenov has explained how countries are subverted.