Direct democracy and pure democracy are the same thing. All decisions are based and voted on by the people.
They countered it because they ruined the land in every way possible which made it hard even for their allies from South Vietnam to support them. Napalm just burnt down forests and habituated areas and harmed a lot of civilians directly, while things such as agent orange destroyed the environment and poisoned the ground, the waters, the food, and basically anything else. It caused much more harm to the people than it did to help them.
America's economy grew by more than 400% between 1860 and 1900 Technological advances, expanding population, improved transportation, financial innovation, and new business practices combined to fuel this economic growth "Titans of Industry".