My reply is off topic a bit, as I’m not treating the ‘versus’ part of the question: I don’t like either direct or representative democracy, because in any kind of democracy I’ve ever seen, the majority abuses, takes advantage of, or discriminates against the minorities (by which I mean any kind of minority). That said, I also can’t think of a better system than democracy, as autocratic or despotic rule has even more downsides. Specifically, even if there is a great dictator or monarch for their lifetime, the next person can be horrible. Constitutional democracies, ones like in the U.S. where we have a bill of rights, are better. The problem is that the rights are ‘interpreted’ by, for example, Supreme Court justices who are appointed by a President who has a particular political bias. So it’s really pretty hopeless to expect any form of government to be fair to everyone in a country. Anarchy or feudalism, however, can be even worse, as we know from history. So, unless one happens to be in a privileged situation with regard to elected leaders at the time, one is screwed. Again, though, there is no solution. You can go out and try to get your candidate elected or your proposition passed, but ultimately the majority rules, and that majority may not want to treat your own minority equitably—in fact they probably won’t: they have their own wants and desires and prejudices to take care of. So, again, any government, or lack of government, is a pretty hopeless situation as far as having a wise, just, society, because ultimately people are all out for themselves and their own.