Is America a "true" democracy?

There are seven core principles of a true democracy*. These are:

1. Popular sovereignty: people have a right to govern themselves;

2. Rights and liberties: the state cannot take rights and liberties away from the people;

3. Democratic values: equality, fairness, property ownership, freedom;

4. Economic democracy: establishes various criteria of fairness or equality as social and economic components of democracy;

5. Rule of law: no one is above the law and the power of the state and its institutions is based on this law;

6. Inclusion: all in the society share the same freedoms - they must not be denied to specifically targeted elements of population;

7. Equality: democratic rights and freedoms must be accorded to everyone on an equal basis. No group in society should have fewer democratic privileges than other groups.

*Taken from Comparative Politics ; second edition; Michael J. Sodaro; McGraw Hill; 2001 and 2004.