It depends upon the level of soul development of the participants in the democracy.
With young souls, you are 100% correct.
Republics with limited enfranchisement to those with actual skin in the game can hope to survive. Once you open it up to everyone and the folks vote to loot from those who work and the rest of the acquired wealth, it has summarily failed. See where we are today. To save America, the voting age should be raised to 30, to those who work or own property,
no government workers should be able to vote, or those in their immediate family, nobody serving as gov’t contractors or in any way receiving gov’t assistance (and that should go for all levels of gov’t). Eliminate these armies of gov’t bureaucrats who are a cancer. Restore small government.