John G. answered • 10/02/19
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A representative government is one in which the voting population elects representatives to form the government. The United States government serves as an example of this: people elect representatives to Congress, and it is these people who theoretically run the government via the House of Representatives and the Senate.
It differs from direct democracy, as in direct democracy, the government consists of the whole body of citizens; the biggest example of this is Athens in 5th century BCE, but can be seen in more modern scenarios in small rural towns.
