Switzerland is the closest... they practice direct democracy. The have elected representation, a constitution, etc but the people are allowed to vote on issues directly like we can here at the state level.
They are such a great case study because many of my conservative/libertarian friends think that Democracy always means that people with nothing will vote for things that hurt people with more. But the results in a country that does this does not appear to show that.
Real Examples:
In February 2020, the "left parties" of Switzerland got enough signatures to get a national vote to bring in government housing, housing cooperatives, etc. 57% voted against it. The measure was defeated.
In 2016, a public vote went up to provide Universal Basic Income. Classic example where you would think the "mob" would vote in favor of getting free government money. It was massively rejected by nearly 80% of voters. They didn't vote for their free govt money.
In 2014, a public vote went up to raise the national minimum wage to 22 francs an hour.... Sounds like a socialist thing right? 76% of the voters REJECTED IT. A huge majority.
In 2015, there was a proposal to add additional taxes on any energy that was not renewable.... This sounds like a socialist thing, right? It was rejected by 92% of voters.
In 2014, the government was gridlocked on immigration reform. As middle eastern migrants were pouring into Europe... they let the citizens directly decide how to handle it. The voters in Switzerland voted to NOT ALLOW mass migration into Switzerland.
There are tons of great examples of real democracy at work in Switzerland... These are just a few examples....
We also have great examples of direct democracy at the state level. Many of the examples of real democracy in America at the state level show people REJECTING tax increases, government initiatives, etc. I have a meeting in a few minutes but I will list out some examples of that.
