Originally Posted by
SonicFlyer
Only partially correct.
A democracy means the minority has zero rights, or only the rights the majority decides they have. A republic respects the primacy of the individual (as you alluded to) and the minority has natural rights inherit in their humanity whether the majority decides they do or not.
Again, that's a direct democracy. That's a form of democracy. A republic is also a form of democracy. In both cases, the people vote (either directly or through representation) for what their government does.