I'm glad we agree on this, but I'll add that all so-called democracies suffer from the same problem.
> I’m talking about democracy and dictatorships as forms of governance in the abstract.
Yes, talking in the abstract is all we can do, because honestly, I can't find any true examples of democracy at the moment.
https://www.democracymatrix.com/ranking
USA is #36, a "deficient democracy". Not a surprise and sadly I can see it only dropping further in the near future.
The scale, interestingly, goes:
- Working Democracy
- Deficient Democracy
- Hybrid Regime
- Moderate Autocracy
- Hard Autocracy
Further details on methodology -> https://www.democracymatrix.com/conception/democracy-matrix
Germany is fifth. Tells me all I need to know about this ranking.
Which is why republics have been succesful. Ideally me, as an idividual, should be able to trust a local leader enough to have them represent me in government. That way I am free to live my life and trust the local leader to handle politics in my best interests.
It rarely ends up that clean, but it happens sometimes.