pure democracy
noun
plural pure democracies
: direct democracy
In a pure democracy, laws are simply made by the voting majority with the rights of the minority largely unprotected. In a republic, laws are made by representatives chosen by the people who must comply with a constitution that specifically protects the rights of the minority from the will of the majority.—Jim Freedman
… the United States is a democratic republic—not a pure democracy. Instead of directly voting for the chief executive, states hold winner-take-all elections to see which "electors" will cast votes on behalf of the entire state …—Christine Ravold and Michael Watson
The goal of representation, [Alexander] Hamilton, wrote, was not to mirror the infinity of private interests in the way a pure democracy would do, but to meld the contesting forces into the permanent and collective interests of the nation.—Bernard Bailyn
compare representative democracy
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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