[_cenw]

The person above didn't claim that? It's just the difference between ideal democracy where the interests of most people are reflected in policy and US democracy (and most others, to different degrees) where choice is limited and corporate interests weigh much more heavy, it's hard to tell if it's closer to a more openly top-down form of government than it is from the ideal.

[deepsun]

Yet the person above didn't get arrested and tortured for that comment. Or for a wrong "like" on Facebook. I'm not exaggerating, it really happens every day.

[_cenw]

Democracy is defined by direct or indirect control of government by people, not the presence or absence of coercion or how violent that coercion is.

This is not a binary choice. Both can be present. Both can be absent. The US arguably has a degree of both.