[B-Chan]

Republics never work as a lasting form of government. Republics are only as good as the voters, which means that they can be very good and also very awful. The problem is that there is no reliable way to guarantee an informed, intelligent electorate that cannot be manipulated by unscrupulous demagogues or co-opted by powerful special interest groups with lots of money and lobbyists. Simply counting noses guarantees absolutely nothing.

[Question_Assumptions]

While it is true that there are no guarantees with Republics, either, the one thing that they have in their favor is the law of averages. Well crafted Republics moderate the extremes. Yes, I realize that they moderate the extremes at both ends -- good and bad. I suggest Robert Bork's book The Tempting of America if you haven't already read it. I think it makes a very strong case decentralized power.

The real reason that we have an uninvolved electorate is affluence. Affluence (in the form of an abundance economy) is the bane of sensible thinking and good government. The awful truth is that a good government of any kind will produce an affluent populace that will ultimately be its undoing.

[Oztrich Boy]

There would seem to be some risk in giving power to people who want it.