The degeneration into a "democracy" was the direct result of a civil war, though, in the case of America. As soon as the covenant of sovereign states was destroyed, the idea of local governance (the "Jeffersonian model") was also destroyed, and that model was designed to combat exactly what you're talking about. Ultimately the problem is allowing any centralization of power. As soon as that starts it never stops and just gets worse. The wrong side winning the civil war was the beginning of the end.