I introduced the term geodemocracy in a previous post here. In this post I expand on the concept.
A country is comprised of two basic elements: people and land. Both of these must be present for a country to exist. The government in some way must represent both the people and the land. For example, the interests of the land may be represented by a landed gentry.
A geodemocracy is a form of government with two elements: (1) elected representation of the people, democracy, and (2) elected representation of the land, geocracy. A geocracy is elected representation by geographical region, regardless of the population, whereas democracy is elected representation based solely on population. To combine democracy and geocracy into one legislature requires a bicameral system, with one chamber elected by population group and the other elected by geographic region.
The United States government is a geodemocracy in two ways: (1) Congress is a bicameral legislature with democratic and geocratic chambers; and (2) the President is elected by the Electoral College, which is comprised of state delegates representing population and geography. The geocratic chamber is comprised of 100 representatives of the fifty states in the U.S. Senate. The democratic chamber is comprised of 435 representatives in the House of Representatives. The Electoral College is comprised of 535 members, and each state has the number of delegates equal to their number in Congress, which gives states with lower population a boost in the number of delegates.
A geodemocracy naturally tends to have two political parties: (1) one that is oriented toward the populace, that is, large city interests, and (2) one that is oriented toward the land, that is, rural and small city interests. In the U.S. these parties are called (1) the Democratic Party and (2) the Republican Party.
The two elements, people and land, are reflected in patriotic hymns. For example, the hymn America the Beautiful speaks of the land: the mountains, the plains, and the extent “from sea to shining sea.” It also speaks of the people: brotherhood, liberty, and “the alabaster cities.”