We don't live in a democracy.  Democracy is a very broad term and just means "voting". We do live in a democracy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy  Democracy (Greek: δημοκρατία dēmokratía, literally "rule by people") is a system of government where the citizens exercise power by voting. In a direct democracy, the citizens as a whole form a governing body and vote directly on each issue. In a representative democracy the citizens elect representatives from among themselves.   We have a representative democracy  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_democracy Representative democracy (also indirect democracy, representative government or psephocracy) is a type of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy  And a Republic. (technically not since secrets for muh security are a thing)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic A republic (Latin: res publica, meaning “public affair”) is a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter", not the private concern or property of the rulers. The primary positions of power within a republic are not inherited, but are attained through democracy, oligarchy, or autocracy. It is a form of government under which the head of state is not a hereditary monarch  You're thinking of a Direct Democracy  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracies.