[zuminator]

And regardless of whether the US government is a democracy or not, the frequent claim that it is a republic and (therefore) not a democracy is a non sequitur. It's like saying my suitcase is black and therefore not tall; the first has no bearing on the second.

It's just a thought-stopping meme. Thought-stopping because it ends up derailing conversations about policy or governance with dictionary definition arguments. A meme because the eye-rolling implication is that if our country is a republic and not a democracy, then naturally it's Republican and not Democrat(ic).

Furthermore, the fact that there are some anti-democratic elements in the US Constitution doesn't preclude democracy on the whole. Much in the way we consider our economic system to be capitalist despite there being many anti-capitalist components.

[gbacon]

Your suitcase is black and therefore not seafoam green. A democracy, a republic, and a federal republic are all different forms of government.

> A meme because the eye-rolling implication is that if our country is a republic and not a democracy, then naturally it's Republican and not Democrat(ic).

Who makes this argument?

“Bad terminology is the enemy of clear thinking,” per Charlie Munger. Yes, calling things what they are can be uncomfortable, and calling things what they are not is gaslighting. A republic is not a democracy. The mixed economy, dirigisme, and corporatism are not capitalism. Who benefits from the confusion that these introduce?

[Eisenstein]

> “Bad terminology is the enemy of clear thinking,”

> and calling things what they are not is gaslighting.

"[Gaslighting] is often used incorrectly to refer to conflicts and disagreements.[5][19][20] According to Robin Stern, PhD, co-founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, "Gaslighting is often used in an accusatory way when somebody may just be insistent on something, or somebody may be trying to influence you. That's not what gaslighting is."[19]"

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting