monikaco on Nostr: You’re trying to sound nuanced, but you’re missing the point. I’m not playing ...

You’re trying to sound nuanced, but you’re missing the point. I’m not playing semantics—I’m pointing out a modern misconception that’s been pushed for over a century: people use the word democracy as if it means liberty, when in fact it means majority rule.

Yes, Aristotle distinguished between democracy (mob rule) and polity (constitutional rule by the many for the common good). But the United States was not founded as a polity either. It was founded as a constitutional republic, where individual rights are protected from both monarchs and mobs.

So no, it’s not a “false dichotomy.” It’s a correction.
When someone keeps calling the U.S. a democracy, they’re either misinformed or propagating a diluted version of what we were actually meant to be.

Read more than just the glossary. Start with the Federalist Papers.
And while you’re at it—define “common good” without falling into technocratic abstraction.