Why would it be difficult to have a direct democracy?

Direct democracies occur in small groups all the time. When you have a very large group of people in a country with borders and a military and a formal government and millions of people, a direct democracy becomes a fantasy. I think Australia comes a lot closer than the USA. read more

Because a 'direct democracy' requires the 'direct' participation of every citizen, the larger the society becomes the more difficult it is for each citizen to have the opportunity to participate. If the vote of every citizen in the US were required on every piece of legislation in Congress, for example, nothing would ever be passed. read more

Direct democracy is difficult because there are so many people involved. If you had a group of, let us say, a dozen people, it would be relatively easy for them to express their opinions about any topic and come to a decision (juries do this). read more

Some states do have direct democracy already. California has “citizen initiatives” as a process to create referendums on public policy issues. There are other states also. The US central government could easily do the same, there’s nothing stopping it except the corporate elite. read more