What is a representative democracy?
Nearly all democracies are of this kind. The adult citizens elect resprentatives: they don't govern themselves directly. Only very small communities can govern themselves directly ("direct democracy") but even then it is often difficult. Three of the least populous Swiss cantons have something close to direct democracy. In Canton Glarus, for example, the laws made by representatives are initially only provisional. Once a year all the adult citizens meet in the capital and vote to confirm or reject the previous year's provisional laws. I wonder if that would work in any state of the U.S.? A referendum, if the result is binding, would also be a form od direct democracy.
What is the main way a representative democracy differs from a direct democracy?
Citizens elect leaders who vote on the issues in a representative democracy, and citizens vote on the issues in a direct democracy. A representative democracy is modern, and a direct democracy is ancient. A representative democracy works better in large groups, and a direct democracy works better in small groups. Citizens' desires are ignored in a representative democracy, and citizens' desires have a better chance of being heard in a direct democracy
How do you use representative democracy in a sentence?
Representative democracy is the opposite of direct democracy, in that the people elect officials to administrate rather than voting for every policy decision. An example of a sentence using the term "representative democracy" is "Every modern democracy is a representative democracy because populations are too large for direct democracy to be practical. "