Many people seem to assume that a republic and a democracy have extremely similar ideas, however both can be seemingly different. The main difference between a republic and a democracy would be who is in control. In a republic, mainly the wealthy are in control of the government, while in a democracy the majority of the population has an equal voice.
In a republic the aristocrats (wealthy) mainly have the voice in government. A republic government usually consists of the Centuriate Assembly and the Senate. A democracy, on the other hand, consists of three major branches of government with divided power. In a republic most seats in both the Centuriate Assembly and the Senate were all held by aristocrats thus making the voice of government one sided. This was due to the voting process. "The Assembly elected consuls and other magistrates and made the laws, which also needed Senate approval. The Senate advised the Assembly but did not itself enact laws; it controlled public finances and foreign policy. Senators either were appointed for life terms by the consuls or were former magistrates." (Perry) In a democracy, however, all elected officials were elected by the people, whether they were rich or poor. All of the citizens in the country carry the same voice in government. This is how the voice of every citizen was heard in the government. Thus every elected official in all three branches were elected and controlled by the people. The people also had the power to replace or impeach officials in office. .
The adjective "democratic" in actuality means "equal". In a democratic government, the people in that government are all considered equal. When a person says he has a democratic view, this means that the person believes that everyone should be treated equally. .
