The idea of a republic holds that certain people elect those who would govern them. The idea of a democracy is that each citizen directly involves themselves in their affairs of their community.
Most children are indoctrinated in to the idea that this nation is a democratic one. Yet as they get older and the information concerning our style of government becomes less sugar coated, the republic for which we stand becomes evident.
The idea behind a republic is that the public cannot choose what is good for them and they need other wiser people to make those decisions for the greater good.
This may have been true back when most were uneducated farmers with their immediate concern being the fate of their crops for the season. Sure they would of not been able to directly handle many of their governmental issues. But today your average person is more educated then most people where 50 years ago, although it may seem the contrary.
The disinterested attitude most people have concerning their political environment is not a result of their intrinsic nature. It is a consequence of their upbringing and the value system they have inherited.
Some argue that democracy would never work and never has because people will not be on top of their duty. So it is in their best interests (following that train of thought) that citizens could hire/elect someone who can take care of all that confusing work.
This idea of people not having the capacity to govern themselves violates the notion of liberty (one of the three notions this nation is based on) and confirms that the average individual is unable to know what is good for them. This is where education needs to come in and fix that inconvenience. Yet our educational system receives less attention then other departments like defense.
My idea is that a direct democracy can flourish if and only if the idea of a national government is greatly dismissed and the emphasis switches to local government where the citizens of that local area are completely involved.
Education helps raise the critical awareness which is the foundation for making good decisions. Sadly our educational system usually does not regard critical analysis until college.
Once the individual is properly educated and fully involved in their community, their sense of purpose and self-esteem becomes strengthened. This is where true religion comes in as the purpose and meaning of ones life (once provided form religion) is to care and maintain their local communities.
True vocation will manifest as action from the persons duty and commitment to their community. Specialized vocations will fade away leading to more generalized citizens armed with the information and technology necessary to solve virtually all problems.
These three principles of democracy, religion, and vocation are the psychological components which will make a resource based economy flourish.
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