363
Why do authoritarian states have 'Democratic' or 'People's' in their names? (thelemmy.club)
submitted 15 hours ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
124 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Many countries include 'Democratic' or 'People's' in their names, even though they are not democratic and do not serve their people. Examples: Democratic People's Republic of Korea Lao People's Democratic Republic People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Democratic Republic of the Congo And German Democratic Republic (East Side) in 1949–1990. None of these states are democratic, power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of a small ruling elite. Who are they fooling with these names?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 47 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

Same reason the USA has 'United' in its name.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] -4 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (4 children)

    Or america, it's just a tiny part of it (and other parts are united too).

    Some "americans" are unhappy with the fact it seems 😋

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
    •
  • [–] 28 points 14 hours ago (1 child)

    Leg of lamb is a dish where one serves a leg that comes from a lamb. The name does not claim that the entire body of the lamb is served.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

    Yes but when you say leg of lamb, most people don't give a shit which leg you're referring to.

    There are multiple sets of states that are united under a single national government and are part of the American continents (Mexico and Brazil, for example) but only one of them claims to be THE United States of America.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 13 hours ago (3 children)

    Was the USA the first set of "united states"?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 6 points 12 hours ago (1 child)

    In the Americas, and in the modern period yes, but the concept was not totally new. Switzerland was a kind of federal state since 1291: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Charter_of_1291

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 12 hours ago

    I suppose it was. Good point.

    Come to think of it, what bothers me isn't our name so much as the attitude of so many of my fellow citizens that the rest of the world is of no consequence. Our name puts a fine point on that narrow world view, regardless of whether it was intended that way.

    So yeah, I'd rather see the culture change than the name.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 12 hours ago (1 child)

    if you stick strictly to the name "united states" then yes, it's the first entity to name themselves this. later entities include the united states of belgium but they appear later (1790).

    however, the netherlands used the name "united provinces" and "(republic of the seven) united netherlands" from 1588, sooooo I guess it can count if you make your question broad?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 11 hours ago

    Only one of them IS THE United States of America. That's how names work.

    Nothing anywhere says "There are no other states that are united in any geographic region that you can refer to as 'America'". That's just silly.

    For example: Mexico is Estados Unidos. I like how they actually refer to the US as EEUU to differentiate. See? It works. You can make things work.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 10 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

    "Of" being the operative part of the name. United States OF America. Derivative of the land name given by the European explorers. While it's incorrect to just say "America," you'd probably just be considered annoying if you went around reminding people or pretending not to get it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] -1 points 11 hours ago (1 child)

    While it’s incorrect to just say “America,”

    No. It is not incorrect. It is simply that "America" can refer to the USA, or it can refer to a continent if you consider NA/SA to be a single continent. Similarly, "Georgia" is a US state but also a country.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 6 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 child)

    Watch (edit: some) Americans get angry when you ask

    • "you mean the united states of Mexico?"
    • "no, NORTH America!
    • "so, Mexico?"
    • ... 😠😡🔥
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 8 hours ago (1 child)

    If I said "estados unidos" it would be fair to assume Mexico. You're just being belligerent because it's currently acceptable to be openly bigoted toward Americans.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 4 points 7 hours ago

    You’re just being belligerent because it’s currently acceptable to be openly bigoted toward Americans.

    I can be belligerent with or without USians present.
    I don't know what you mean by currently, but I have been critical of US American exceptionalism for a long time. And that includes feeling attacked when someone says "there's more united states than just the USA".
    I don't think calling me bigoted is applicable here.
    And people downvoting me and even feeling the need to berate me kinda proves the point of my previous comment.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] -2 points 11 hours ago (1 child)

    I gave you an upvote because while i'm USian, I firmly believe that "American" is a proper term for people of the United States of America.

    I also am fine with the folks (mostly Brazilians in my experience) who want to use "American" to refer to people of the Americas (or the continent of America for those that consider it a single continent).

    Both work fine.

    It's usually pretty darn clear from context which is meant, just like with Georgia (a US state and the English name for a country).

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 8 hours ago (1 child)

    It's always clear from context. In English "American" means a denizen of the USA. Spanish and Portugese have different words for that.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •