Democracy is only a means, a tool, a means, not an end. Republicanism in the early United States places the rule of law as the highest authority, with the explicit purpose of preserving individual rights.

With the abandonment of liberty as a goal, and thus the abandonment of the complementary of principle of liberty: our individual responsibility to build and preserve voluntary, civil society through charity, non-profits, volunteering, church, etc. Republicanism began to fail.

Another aspect of the loss of the Republican system is the loss of state sovereignty. Senators, prior to the 17th amendment, were appointed by each state. Senators, were intended to be what they became, super-representatives with 4.35x as much power and a 3x longer term, it’s no longer a true upper house.

In many ways, we have been bested by Switzerland (officially called the “Swiss Confederation” who still has a true “upper house”. Whose wealth, neutrality, direct democracy, and much less oppressive tax system provide for more liberty than we enjoy… even if it is not as explicitly spelled out.

They have one of the lowest tax rates of developed countries and was ranked by the world economic forum as the most competitive country in the world.

(by the way, all of this can be found on the Switzerland Wikipedia article)

Other than the overall aversion to Europe, I’m surprised that fewer libertarians use it as an example… especially as a comparison to the more socialist countries in Europe.