Tyranny of the Majority

[Anthony Simmons]

>> From: Martin Harper <mcnh2 at cam.ac.uk>
>> Subject: Re: Tyranny of the Majority

Your post, quoted below, pretty much says it.  To many
people, democracy is a matter of trying to grab power, and
the largest mob makes whatever rules suit it.

Regarding the danger of getting into political debate, I
think politics has to be considered, if not debated.
Elections often have political consequences.  I noticed there
was some reaction to Forest's mention of the political
considerations, but I think that's just the nature of
political elections, and any inquiry into the nature of
utility must take the political consequences into account.

>> Anthony Simmons wrote:

>> > Here's the question I would ask:  Does the majority tend to
>> > tyrannize the minority?

>> It's exceptionally bad taste to even begin to mention it,
>> but I suspect that in Nazi Germany the majority of Aryans
>> tyrannizing the minority of Jews would be an example. Some
>> commentators on South Africa have been suggesting that the
>> black majority is now tyrannising the white minority.
>> Similarly one might look at the anti-gay laws in many
>> countries and claim that they represent the tyranny of the
>> hetero over the homo.

>> On a lesser extent, there are often cases regarding, for
>> example, the siting of a bypass which have tyrannical
>> aspects: the majority wishes to have a bypass to ease
>> congestion - and the fact that this will devalue the house
>> price and peace of mind of the minority of those who live
>> nearby it is largely ignored. The same goes for, say,
>> power stations, landfills, electricity pylons, nuclear
>> waste dumps, stadiums, and so forth and so on.

>> In countries with a two party system, whichever party is
>> in power often appears to tyrranise the minority which is
>> not. Such things led to a top rate of tax of 97% in the UK
>> in a previous Labour government, which would appear to be
>> the poor tyrranising the rich. The "poll tax" of the
>> Conservatives would appear to be the reverse.

>> These are all examples, and I don't agree with all of
>> them, and I don't really want to get into political debate
>> on them. But I feel that the problem does exist, though
>> how often is a matter for debate.