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Tyranny of the majority - Wikipedia
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class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For the form of democracy, see <a href="/wiki/Ochlocracy" class="mw-redirect" title="Ochlocracy">Ochlocracy</a>. For the Flesh Field album, see <a href="/wiki/Tyranny_of_the_Majority_(album)" title="Tyranny of the Majority (album)">Tyranny of the Majority (album)</a>. For the concept in engineering, see <a href="/wiki/Tyranny_of_numbers" title="Tyranny of numbers">Tyranny of numbers</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist 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.sidebar{display:table!important;float:right!important;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em!important}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-subgroup{width:100%;margin:0;border-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-left{float:left;clear:left;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-none{float:none;clear:both;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-outer-title{padding:0 0.4em 0.2em;font-size:125%;line-height:1.2em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-image{padding:0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-caption,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle-with-top-image,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-caption{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle{padding:0.4em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.2em 0.8em;font-size:145%;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-image{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-heading{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content{padding:0 0.5em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content-with-subgroup{padding:0.1em 0.4em 0.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-below{padding:0.3em 0.8em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-below{border-top:1px solid #aaa;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-navbar{text-align:right;font-size:115%;padding:0 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:left;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6em;font-size:105%}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title-c{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:center;margin:0 3.3em}@media(max-width:640px){body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:100%!important;clear:both;float:none!important;margin-left:0!important;margin-right:0!important}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .sidebar a>img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"> <p><b>Tyranny of the majority</b> refers to a situation in <a href="/wiki/Majority_rule" title="Majority rule">majority rule</a> where the preferences and interests of the majority may dominate the political landscape, potentially sidelining or disregarding the rights and needs of minority groups. This idea has been discussed by various thinkers, including <a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" title="John Stuart Mill">John Stuart Mill</a>, who explored the implications of such dynamics in his 1859 book <a href="/wiki/On_Liberty" title="On Liberty"><i>On Liberty</i></a><i>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></i> </p><p>A tyranny of the majority can ensue when democracy is distorted either by an excess of centralization<sup id="cite_ref-lacy94_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lacy94-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> or when the people abandons a wider perspective to "rule upon numbers, not upon rightness or excellence".<sup id="cite_ref-deneen15_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-deneen15-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In both cases, in the context of a nation, <a href="/wiki/Constitution" title="Constitution">constitutional</a> limits on the powers of a legislative body such as a <a href="/wiki/Bill_of_rights" title="Bill of rights">bill of rights</a> or <a href="/wiki/Supermajority" title="Supermajority">supermajority clause</a> have been used to counter the problem. A <a href="/wiki/Separation_of_powers" title="Separation of powers">separation of powers</a> (for example <a href="/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">legislative</a> and <a href="/wiki/Executive_(government)" title="Executive (government)">executive</a> majority actions subject to review by the <a href="/wiki/Judiciary" title="Judiciary">judiciary</a>) may also be implemented to prevent the problem from happening internally in a government.<sup id="cite_ref-Przeworski2_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Przeworski2-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In <a href="/wiki/Social_choice_theory" title="Social choice theory">social choice</a>, a tyranny-of-the-majority scenario can be formally defined as a situation where the candidate or decision preferred by a majority is greatly inferior (hence "tyranny") to the socially optimal candidate or decision according to some measure of excellence such as <a href="/wiki/Total_utilitarianism" class="mw-redirect" title="Total utilitarianism">total utilitarianism</a> or the <a href="/wiki/Egalitarian_rule" title="Egalitarian rule">egalitarian rule</a>. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none"><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Origin_of_the_term"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Origin of the term</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Examples"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Examples</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Abandonment_of_rationality"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Abandonment of rationality</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Usual_no-tyranny_scenario"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Usual no-tyranny scenario</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Federated_centralization_excess"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Federated centralization excess</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Tyranny_emerging"><span class="tocnumber">2.4</span> <span class="toctext">Tyranny emerging</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Concurrent_majority"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Concurrent majority</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Viewpoints"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Viewpoints</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#James_Madison"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">James Madison</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Alexis_de_Tocqueville"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Alexis de Tocqueville</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="#Critique_by_Robert_A._Dahl"><span class="tocnumber">4.3</span> <span class="toctext">Critique by Robert A. Dahl</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12"><a href="#Trampling_the_rights_of_minorities"><span class="tocnumber">4.4</span> <span class="toctext">Trampling the rights of minorities</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13"><a href="#Public_choice_theory"><span class="tocnumber">4.5</span> <span class="toctext">Public choice theory</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14"><a href="#Vote_trading"><span class="tocnumber">4.6</span> <span class="toctext">Vote trading</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17"><a href="#Further_reading"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(1)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Origin_of_the_term">Origin of the term</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Origin of the term" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-1 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-1"> <p>The origin of the term "tyranny of the majority" is commonly attributed to <a href="/wiki/Alexis_de_Tocqueville" title="Alexis de Tocqueville">Alexis de Tocqueville</a>, who used it in his book <i><a href="/wiki/Democracy_in_America" title="Democracy in America">Democracy in America</a></i>. It appears in Part 2 of the book in the title of Chapter 8, "What Moderates the Tyranny of the Majority in the United States' Absence of Administrative Centralization" (<a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>: <i lang="fr">De ce qui tempère aux États-Unis la <b>tyrannie de la majorité</b></i><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>) and in the previous chapter in the names of sections such as "The Tyranny of the Majority" and "Effects of the Tyranny of the Majority on American National Character; the Courtier Spirit in the United States".<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>While the specific phrase "tyranny of the majority" is frequently attributed to various <a href="/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States" title="Founding Fathers of the United States">Founding Fathers of the United States</a>, only <a href="/wiki/John_Adams" title="John Adams">John Adams</a> is known to have used it, arguing against government by a single <a href="/wiki/Unicameral" class="mw-redirect" title="Unicameral">unicameral</a> elected body. Writing in defense of the <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States" title="Constitution of the United States">Constitution</a> in March 1788,<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Adams referred to "a single sovereign assembly, each member…only accountable to his constituents; and the majority of members who have been of one party" as a "tyranny of the majority", attempting to highlight the need instead for "a <a href="/wiki/Mixed_government" title="Mixed government">mixed government</a>, consisting of <a href="/wiki/Separation_of_powers" title="Separation of powers">three branches</a>". Constitutional author <a href="/wiki/James_Madison" title="James Madison">James Madison</a> presented a similar idea in <a href="/wiki/Federalist_10" class="mw-redirect" title="Federalist 10">Federalist 10</a>, citing the destabilizing effect of "the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority" on a government, though the essay as a whole focuses on the Constitution's efforts to mitigate factionalism generally. </p><p>Later users include <a href="/wiki/Edmund_Burke" title="Edmund Burke">Edmund Burke</a>, who wrote in a 1790 letter that "The tyranny of a multitude is a multiplied tyranny."<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It was further popularised by <a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" title="John Stuart Mill">John Stuart Mill</a>, influenced by Tocqueville, in <i><a href="/wiki/On_Liberty" title="On Liberty">On Liberty</a></i> (1859). <a href="/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche" title="Friedrich Nietzsche">Friedrich Nietzsche</a> used the phrase in the first sequel to <i><a href="/wiki/Human,_All_Too_Human" title="Human, All Too Human">Human, All Too Human</a></i> (1879).<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Ayn_Rand" title="Ayn Rand">Ayn Rand</a> wrote that individual rights are not subject to a public vote, and that the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities and "the smallest minority on earth is the individual".<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In <a href="/wiki/Herbert_Marcuse" title="Herbert Marcuse">Herbert Marcuse</a>'s 1965 essay <i><a href="/wiki/Repressive_Tolerance" class="mw-redirect" title="Repressive Tolerance">Repressive Tolerance</a></i>, he said "tolerance is extended to policies, conditions, and modes of behavior which should not be tolerated because they are impeding, if not destroying, the chances of creating an existence without fear and misery" and that "this sort of tolerance strengthens the tyranny of the majority against which authentic liberals protested".<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1994, legal scholar <a href="/wiki/Lani_Guinier" title="Lani Guinier">Lani Guinier</a> used the phrase as the title for a collection of <a href="/wiki/Law_review" title="Law review">law review</a> articles.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A term used in <a href="/wiki/Classical_Greece" title="Classical Greece">Classical</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hellenistic_Greece" title="Hellenistic Greece">Hellenistic Greece</a> for oppressive popular rule was <i><a href="/wiki/Ochlocracy" class="mw-redirect" title="Ochlocracy">ochlocracy</a></i> ("mob rule"); <i><a href="/wiki/Tyranny" class="mw-redirect" title="Tyranny">tyranny</a></i> meant rule by one man—whether undesirable or not. </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(2)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Examples">Examples</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Examples" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-2 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-2"> <p>The "no tyranny" and "tyranny" situations can be characterized in any simple democratic decision-making context, as a <a href="/wiki/Deliberative_assembly" title="Deliberative assembly">deliberative <i>assembly</i></a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Abandonment_of_rationality">Abandonment of rationality</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Abandonment of rationality" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p><a href="/wiki/Herbert_Spencer" title="Herbert Spencer">Herbert Spencer</a>, in "The Right to Ignore the State" (1851), pointed the problem with the following example:<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>Suppose, for the sake of argument, that, struck by some <a href="/wiki/Malthusian_growth_model" title="Malthusian growth model">Malthusian panic</a>, a legislature duly representing public opinion were to enact that all children born during the next ten years should be drowned. Does anyone think such an enactment would be warrantable? If not, there is evidently a limit to the power of a majority.</p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Usual_no-tyranny_scenario">Usual no-tyranny scenario</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Usual no-tyranny scenario" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Original_research plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Original_research" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>possibly contains <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research" title="Wikipedia:No original research">original research</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Relevant discussion may be found on <a href="/wiki/Talk:Tyranny_of_the_majority#Original_Research" title="Talk:Tyranny of the majority">Talk:Tyranny of the majority</a>. Please <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit">improve it</a> by <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verifying</a> the claims made and adding <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Inline_citations" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">inline citations</a>. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">June 2016</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Tyranny_of_the_majority" title="Special:EditPage/Tyranny of the majority">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">September 2019</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1(3).png" class="mw-file-description"><noscript><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png/220px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="100" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="461" data-file-height="210"></noscript><span class="lazy-image-placeholder" style="width: 220px;height: 100px;" data-src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png/220px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png" data-width="220" data-height="100" data-srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png/330px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png/440px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig1%283%29.png 2x" data-class="mw-file-element"> </span></a><figcaption>A collective decision of 13 voters in a deliberative assembly. Result: 8 votes for X (purple) and 5 votes for Y (brown). X option wins, because it has a majority (more than half).</figcaption></figure> <p>Suppose a deliberative assembly of a <a href="/wiki/Condominium_(dwelling)" class="mw-redirect" title="Condominium (dwelling)">building condominium</a> with 13 voters, deciding, with majority rule, about "<i>X</i> or <i>Y</i>", </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r996643573">.mw-parser-output .block-indent{padding-left:3em;padding-right:0;overflow:hidden}</style><div class="block-indent"><i>X</i>: to paint some common rooms (as game room, lobby and each floor's hall) with purple color.</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r996643573"><div class="block-indent"><i>Y</i>: to paint with brown color.</div> <p>Suppose that the final result is "8 votes for <i>X</i> and 5 votes for <i>Y</i>", so 8, as a majority, purple wins. As collectively (13 voters) the decision is legitimate. </p><p>It is a centralized decision about all common use rooms, "one color for all rooms", and it is also legitimate. Voters have some arguments against "each room with its color", rationalizing the centralization: some say that common rooms need uniform decisions; some prefer the homogeneous color style, and all other voters have no style preference; an economic analysis demonstrates (and all agree) that a wholesale purchase of <i>one</i> color paint for all rooms is better. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Federated_centralization_excess">Federated centralization excess</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Federated centralization excess" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p>Centralization excess is the most usual case. Suppose that each floor has some kind of local governance, so in some aspects the condominium is a "<a href="/wiki/Federation" title="Federation">federation</a> of floors". Suppose that only on the third floor the majority of residents manifested some preference to "each floor with different color" style, and all of the third floor residents likes the red color. The cost difference, to purchase another color for one floor, is not significant when compared with the condominium contributions. </p><p>In these conditions some perception of tyranny arrives, and the <a href="/wiki/Subsidiarity" title="Subsidiarity">subsidiarity principle</a> can be used to contest the central decision. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Tyranny_emerging">Tyranny emerging</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Tyranny emerging" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png" class="mw-file-description"><noscript><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png/320px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png" decoding="async" width="320" height="117" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="1080" data-file-height="396"></noscript><span class="lazy-image-placeholder" style="width: 320px;height: 117px;" data-src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png/320px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png" data-width="320" data-height="117" data-srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png/480px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png/640px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig4.png 2x" data-class="mw-file-element"> </span></a><figcaption>Minority and tyranny characterized: a coherent subset of voters with some collective action; a central decision; the <i>subsidiarity principle</i> can be used by minority group decision.</figcaption></figure> <p>In the <a href="#Usual_no-tyranny_scenario">above no-tyranny scenario</a>, suppose no floor federation, but (only) a room with some local governance. Suppose that the <i>gym room</i> is not used by all, but there is a "community" of regulars, there is a grouping of voters by its activity as <a href="/wiki/Sprinter_(cycling)" title="Sprinter (cycling)">speed-cyclists</a> (illustrated as spiked hair), that have the gym room key for some activities on Sundays. They are acting collectively to preserve the gym room for a local cyclists group. </p><p>In this situation the following facts hold: </p> <ul><li>There is a <a href="/wiki/Subset" title="Subset">subset</a> of voters and some <a href="/wiki/Collective_action" title="Collective action">collective action</a>, uniting them, making them a cohesive group.</li> <li>There is some <a href="/wiki/Centralization" class="mw-redirect" title="Centralization">centralization</a> (a general assembly) and some <i>central decision</i> (over local decision): there is no choice of "each room decision" or "each <i>regulars' community</i> decision". So it is a <i>central decision</i>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Subsidiarity" title="Subsidiarity">subsidiarity principle</a> can be applied: there is an "embryonic <a href="/wiki/Local_government" title="Local government">local governance</a>" connecting the cyclists, and the other people (voters) of the condominium recognise the group, transferring some (little) responsibility to them (the keys of the gym room and right to advocate their cycling activities to other residents).</li></ul> <p>There is no "enforced <a href="/wiki/Minoritarianism" title="Minoritarianism">minoritarianism</a>"; it seems a legitimate characterization of a relevant (and not <a href="/wiki/Dominant_minority" title="Dominant minority">dominant</a>) minority. This is a <i>tyranny of the majority</i> situation because: </p> <ul><li>there is a little "global gain" in a global decision (where <i>X</i> wins), and a good "local gain" in local decision (local <i>Y</i> preference);</li> <li>there is relevant voting for a local decision: 6 voters (46%) are <i>gym room</i> regulars, 5 that voted <i>Y</i>. The majority of them (83%) voted <i>Y</i>.</li></ul> <p>In this situation, even with no <a href="/wiki/Federation" title="Federation">formal federation structure</a>, the minority and a potential local governance emerged: the tyranny perception arrives with it. </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(3)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Concurrent_majority">Concurrent majority</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Concurrent majority" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-3 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-3"> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Concurrent_majority" title="Concurrent majority">Concurrent majority</a></div> <p>Secession of the <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederate States of America</a> from the United States was anchored by a version of <a href="/wiki/Subsidiarity" title="Subsidiarity">subsidiarity</a>, found within the doctrines of <a href="/wiki/John_C._Calhoun" title="John C. Calhoun">John C. Calhoun</a>. <a href="/wiki/Antebellum_South_Carolina" title="Antebellum South Carolina">Antebellum South Carolina</a> utilized Calhoun's doctrines in the <a href="/wiki/Old_South" title="Old South">Old South</a> as public policy, adopted from his theory of <a href="/wiki/Concurrent_majority" title="Concurrent majority">concurrent majority</a>. This "localism" strategy was presented as a mechanism to circumvent Calhoun's perceived tyranny of the majority in the United States. Each state presumptively held the Sovereign power to block federal laws that infringed upon <a href="/wiki/States%27_rights" title="States' rights">states' rights</a>, autonomously. Calhoun's policies directly influenced Southern public policy regarding slavery, and undermined the <a href="/wiki/Supremacy_Clause" title="Supremacy Clause">Supremacy Clause</a> power granted to the federal government. The subsequent creation of the <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederate States of America</a> catalyzed the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>. </p><p>19th century concurrent majority theories held logical counterbalances to standard tyranny of the majority harms originating from <a href="/wiki/Classical_antiquity" title="Classical antiquity">Antiquity</a> and onward. Essentially, illegitimate or temporary coalitions that held majority volume could disproportionately outweigh and hurt any significant minority, by nature and sheer volume. Calhoun's contemporary doctrine was presented as one of limitation within American democracy to prevent traditional tyranny, whether actual or imagined.<sup id="cite_ref-lacy94_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lacy94-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(4)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Viewpoints">Viewpoints</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Viewpoints" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-4 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-4"> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="James_Madison">James Madison</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: James Madison" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p><a href="/wiki/Federalist_No._10" title="Federalist No. 10">Federalist No. 10</a> "The Same Subject Continued: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection" (November 23, 1787):<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <blockquote><p>The inference to which we are brought is, that the CAUSES of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its EFFECTS. If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote. It may clog the administration, it may convulse the society; but it will be unable to execute and mask its violence under the forms of the Constitution. When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens. To secure the public good and private rights against the danger of such a faction, and at the same time to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is then the great object to which our inquiries are directed...By what means is this object attainable? Evidently by one of two only. Either the existence of the same passion or interest in a majority at the same time must be prevented, or the majority, having such coexistent passion or interest, must be rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression.</p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Alexis_de_Tocqueville">Alexis de Tocqueville</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Alexis de Tocqueville" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p>With respect to American democracy, Tocqueville, in his book <a href="/wiki/Democracy_in_America" title="Democracy in America">Democracy in America</a>, says: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>So what is a majority taken as a whole, if not an individual who has opinions and, most often, interests contrary to another individual called the minority. Now, if you admit that an individual vested with omnipotence can abuse it against his adversaries, why would you not admit the same thing for the majority? Have men, by gathering together, changed character? By becoming stronger, have they become more patient in the face of obstacles? As for me, I cannot believe it; and the power to do everything that I refuse to any one of my fellows, I will never grant to several. <sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>So when I see the right and the ability to do everything granted to whatever power, whether called people or king, democracy or aristocracy, whether exercised in a monarchy or a republic, I say: the seed of tyranny is there and I try to go and live under other laws.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>When a man or a party suffers from an injustice in the United States, to whom do you want them to appeal? To public opinion? That is what forms the majority. To the legislative body? It represents the majority and blindly obeys it. To the executive power? It is named by the majority and serves it as a passive instrument. To the police? The police are nothing other than the majority under arms. To the jury? The jury is the majority vested with the right to deliver judgments. The judges themselves, in certain states, are elected by the majority. However iniquitous or unreasonable the measure that strikes you may be, you must therefore submit to it or flee. What is that if not the very soul of tyranny under the forms of liberty<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Critique_by_Robert_A._Dahl">Critique by Robert A. Dahl</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Critique by Robert A. Dahl" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p><a href="/wiki/Robert_A._Dahl" class="mw-redirect" title="Robert A. Dahl">Robert A. Dahl</a> argues that the tyranny of the majority is a spurious dilemma (p. 171):<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"></p><blockquote class="templatequote"> <p><b>Critic</b>: Are you trying to say that majority tyranny is simply an illusion? If so, that is going to be small comfort to a minority whose fundamental rights are trampled on by an abusive majority. I think you need to consider seriously two possibilities; first, that a majority will infringe on the rights of a minority, and second, that a majority may oppose democracy itself.<br><b>Advocate</b>: Let's take up the first. The issue is sometimes presented as a paradox. If a majority is not entitled to do so, then it is thereby deprived of its rights; but if a majority is entitled to do so, then it can deprive the minority of its rights. The paradox is supposed to show that no solution can be both democratic and just. But the dilemma seems to be spurious.<br>Of course a majority might have the power or strength to deprive a minority of its political rights. […] The question is whether a majority may <i>rightly</i> use its primary political rights to deprive a minority of its primary political rights.<br>The answer is clearly no. To put it another way, logically it can't be true that the members of an association ought to govern themselves by the democratic process, and at the same time a majority of the association may properly strip a minority of its primary political rights. For, by doing so the majority would deny the minority the rights necessary to the democratic process. In effect therefore the majority would affirm that the association ought not to govern itself by the democratic process. They can't have it both ways.<br><b>Critic</b>: Your argument may be perfectly logical. But majorities aren't always perfectly logical. They may believe in democracy to some extent and yet violate its principles. Even worse, they may <i>not</i> believe in democracy and yet they may cynically use the democratic process to destroy democracy. […] Without some limits, both moral and constitutional, the democratic process becomes self-contradictory, doesn't it?<br><b>Advocate</b>: That's exactly what I've been trying to show. Of course democracy has limits. But my point is that these are built into the very nature of the process itself. If you exceed those limits, then you necessarily violate the democratic process.</p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Trampling_the_rights_of_minorities">Trampling the rights of minorities</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Trampling the rights of minorities" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p>Regarding recent American politics (specifically <a href="/wiki/Popular_initiative" title="Popular initiative">initiatives</a>), Donovan et al. argue that: </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>One of the original concerns about direct democracy is the potential it has to allow a majority of voters to trample the rights of minorities. Many still worry that the process can be used to harm gays and lesbians as well as ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities. … Recent scholarly research shows that the initiative process is sometimes prone to produce laws that disadvantage relatively powerless minorities … State and local ballot initiatives have been used to undo policies – such as school desegregation, protections against job and housing discrimination, and affirmative action – that minorities have secured from legislatures.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Public_choice_theory">Public choice theory</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Public choice theory" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p>The notion that, in a democracy, the greatest concern is that the majority will tyrannise and exploit diverse smaller interests, has been criticised by <a href="/wiki/Mancur_Olson" title="Mancur Olson">Mancur Olson</a> in <i><a href="/wiki/The_Logic_of_Collective_Action" title="The Logic of Collective Action">The Logic of Collective Action</a></i>, who argues instead that narrow and well organised minorities are more likely to assert their interests over those of the majority. Olson argues that when the benefits of political action (e.g., lobbying) are spread over fewer agents, there is a stronger individual incentive to contribute to that political activity. Narrow groups, especially those who can reward active participation to their group goals, might therefore be able to dominate or distort political process, a process studied in <a href="/wiki/Public_choice_theory" class="mw-redirect" title="Public choice theory">public choice theory</a>. </p><p><b><big>Class studies</big></b> </p><p>Tyranny of the majority has also been prevalent in some class studies. Rahim Baizidi uses the concept of "democratic suppression" to analyze the tyranny of the majority in economic classes. According to this, the majority of the upper and middle classes, together with a small portion of the lower class, form the majority coalition of conservative forces in the society.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Vote_trading">Vote trading</h3><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Vote trading" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div> <p>Anti-federalists of public choice theory point out that <a href="/wiki/Vote_trading" title="Vote trading">vote trading</a> can protect minority interests from majorities in representative democratic bodies such as legislatures.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="no example is given of such anti-fedarilsts making such claims (May 2014)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> They continue that direct democracy, such as statewide propositions on ballots, does not offer such protections.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="margin-left:0.1em; white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words"><span title="Who says this? (June 2013)">weasel words</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png" class="mw-file-description"><noscript><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png/320px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png" decoding="async" width="320" height="115" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="1088" data-file-height="392"></noscript><span class="lazy-image-placeholder" style="width: 320px;height: 115px;" data-src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png/320px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png" data-width="320" data-height="115" data-srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png/480px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png/640px-Illustrating-ConcurrentMajority-fig2.png 2x" data-class="mw-file-element"> </span></a><figcaption>The global voting shows a <i>precedent</i> to use of <i>concurrent majority</i> for the "one color for all rooms" central tyrannized decision. Majority color (blue) is used at one room, and the concurrent majority at its correlated room (red).</figcaption></figure> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(5)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: See also" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-5 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-5"> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media 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data-src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png" data-alt="" data-width="34" data-height="40" data-srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/51px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/68px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png 2x" data-class="mw-file-element"> </span></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikiquote has quotations related to <i><b><a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:Search/Tyranny_of_the_majority" class="extiw" title="q:Special:Search/Tyranny of the majority">Tyranny of the majority</a></b></i>.</div></div> </div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col div-col-small" style="column-width: 20em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Administrative_law" title="Administrative law">Administrative law</a> – Branch of law governing administrative agencies</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anarchism" title="Anarchism">Anarchism</a> – Political philosophy and movement</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum" title="Argumentum ad populum">Argumentum ad populum</a> – Fallacy of claiming the majority is always correct</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Authoritarian_personality" title="Authoritarian personality">Authoritarian personality</a> – Disposition towards authoritarian ideas</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cancel_culture" title="Cancel culture">Cancel culture</a> – Modern form of ostracism</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Consensus_decision-making" title="Consensus decision-making">Consensus decision-making</a> – Group decision-making aiming for universal agreement</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conformity" title="Conformity">Conformity</a> – Matching opinions and behaviors to group norms</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Consociationalism" title="Consociationalism">Consociationalism</a> – Political power sharing among cultural groups</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Criticism_of_democracy" title="Criticism of democracy">Criticism of democracy</a> – Critiques of democratic political systems</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Democratic_backsliding" title="Democratic backsliding">Democratic backsliding</a> – National decline in democracy</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dictatorship_of_the_proletariat" title="Dictatorship of the proletariat">Dictatorship of the proletariat</a> – Marxist political concept</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dominant_minority" title="Dominant minority">Dominant minority</a> – Minority group that holds a disproportionate amount of power</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elective_dictatorship" title="Elective dictatorship">Elective dictatorship</a> – One-government dominance of a parliament</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933" title="Enabling Act of 1933">Enabling Act of 1933</a> – Transfer of the Reichstag's power to the government under Hitler</li> <li><a href="/wiki/General_will" title="General will">General will</a> – Term in political philosophy</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Majoritarianism" title="Majoritarianism">Majoritarianism</a> – Political philosophy</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Minority_rights" title="Minority rights">Minority rights</a> – Rights of members of minority groups</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Populism" title="Populism">Populism</a> – Political philosophy</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spiral_of_silence" title="Spiral of silence">Spiral of silence</a> – Political science and mass communication theory</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Totalitarianism" title="Totalitarianism">Totalitarianism</a> – Extreme form of authoritarianism</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons" title="Tragedy of the commons">Tragedy of the commons</a> – Self-interests causing depletion of a shared resource</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utilitarianism" title="Utilitarianism">Utilitarianism</a> – Ethical theory based on maximizing well-being</li></ul> </div> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(6)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: References" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-6 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-6"> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">John Stuart Mill. <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://archive.org/details/onliberty02millgoog">[1]</a> </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-lacy94-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-lacy94_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-lacy94_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Lacy K. Ford Jr., "Inventing the Concurrent Majority: Madison, Calhoun, and the Problem of Majoritarianism in American Political Thought", <i>The Journal of Southern History,</i> Vol. 60, No. 1 (Feb., 1994), pp. 19–58 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2210719">in JSTOR</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-deneen15-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-deneen15_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">P. J. Deneen (2015) "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/03/equality-tyranny-and-despotism-in-democracy-remembering-alexis-de-tocqueville.html">Equality, Tyranny, and Despotism in Democracy: Remembering Alexis de Tocqueville</a>", 2015s <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886049734">.mw-parser-output .monospaced{font-family:monospace,monospace}</style><span class="monospaced">theimaginativeconservative.org</span> article.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Przeworski2-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Przeworski2_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">A Przeworski, JM Maravall, I NetLibrary <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=EMB-F6Forx8C">Democracy and the Rule of Law</a></i> (2003) p. 223</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFde_Tocqueville2012" class="citation book cs1">de Tocqueville, Alexis (2012). <i>De la démocratie en Amérique</i>. Institut Coppet.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=De+la+d%C3%A9mocratie+en+Am%C3%A9rique&rft.pub=Institut+Coppet&rft.date=2012&rft.aulast=de+Tocqueville&rft.aufirst=Alexis&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTocqueville2003" class="citation book cs1">Tocqueville, Alexis de (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51528434"><i>Democracy in America : and Two essays on America</i></a>. Gerald E. Bevan, Isaac Kramnick, Alexis de Tocqueville. London. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-14-044760-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-14-044760-1"><bdi>0-14-044760-1</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/51528434">51528434</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Democracy+in+America+%3A+and+Two+essays+on+America&rft.place=London&rft.date=2003&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F51528434&rft.isbn=0-14-044760-1&rft.aulast=Tocqueville&rft.aufirst=Alexis+de&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldcat.org%2Foclc%2F51528434&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher" title="Category:CS1 maint: location missing publisher">link</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/John_Adams" title="John Adams">John Adams</a>, <i>A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America</i>, Vol. 3 (London: 1788), p. 290-291, 310.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBurke1844" class="citation book cs1">Burke, Edmund (1844). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=DGdCAAAAcAAJ&q=burke+tyranny+of+a+multitude+is+a+multiplied+tyranny&pg=PA147"><i>Correspondence of Edmund Burke between the year 1774 - 1797</i></a>. Rivington.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Correspondence+of+Edmund+Burke+between+the+year+1774+-+1797&rft.pub=Rivington&rft.date=1844&rft.aulast=Burke&rft.aufirst=Edmund&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DDGdCAAAAcAAJ%26q%3Dburke%2Btyranny%2Bof%2Ba%2Bmultitude%2Bis%2Ba%2Bmultiplied%2Btyranny%26pg%3DPA147&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">See for example maxim 89 of Friedrich Nietzsche, <i>Human, All Too Human: First Sequel: Mixed Opinions and Maxims</i>, 1879</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ayn Rand (1961), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/individualrights.html">"Collectivized 'Rights,'"</a> <i>The Virtue of Selfishness</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.marcuse.org/herbert/pubs/60spubs/65repressivetolerance.htm"><i>The Repressive Tolerance</i> by Herbert Marcuse</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Lani Guinier, <i>The Tyranny of the Majority</i> (Free Press: 1994)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.panarchy.org/spencer/ignore.state.1851.html">"Herbert Spencer, The Right to Ignore the State (1851)"</a>. <i>www.panarchy.org</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2019-11-18</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.panarchy.org&rft.atitle=Herbert+Spencer%2C+The+Right+to+Ignore+the+State+%281851%29&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.panarchy.org%2Fspencer%2Fignore.state.1851.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMadisonHamilton" class="citation web cs1">Madison, James; Hamilton, Alexander. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/text-1-10#s-lg-box-wrapper-25493273">"Federalist Nos. 51-60"</a>. <i>Library of Congress</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">12 February</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Library+of+Congress&rft.atitle=Federalist+Nos.+51-60&rft.aulast=Madison&rft.aufirst=James&rft.au=Hamilton%2C+Alexander&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fguides.loc.gov%2Ffederalist-papers%2Ftext-1-10%23s-lg-box-wrapper-25493273&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition of De la démocratie en Amérique, ed. Eduardo Nolla, translated from the French by James T. Schleifer. A Bilingual French-English editions, (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2010). Vol. 2.<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/schleifer-democracy-in-america-historical-critical-edition-vol-2#Tocqueville_1532-02_EN_810">Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition, vol. 2| Online Library of Liberty</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition of De la démocratie en Amérique, ed. Eduardo Nolla, translated from the French by James T. Schleifer. A Bilingual French-English editions, (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2010). Vol. 2. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/schleifer-democracy-in-america-historical-critical-edition-vol-2#Tocqueville_1532-02_EN_816">Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition, vol. 2| Online Library of Liberty</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition of De la démocratie en Amérique, ed. Eduardo Nolla, translated from the French by James T. Schleifer. A Bilingual French-English editions, (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2010). Vol. 2. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/schleifer-democracy-in-america-historical-critical-edition-vol-2#Tocqueville_1532-02_EN_818">Democracy in America: Historical-Critical Edition, vol. 2| Online Library of Liberty</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDahl1989" class="citation book cs1">Dahl, Robert (1989). <i><a href="/wiki/Democracy_and_Its_Critics" title="Democracy and Its Critics">Democracy and Its Critics</a></i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Democracy+and+Its+Critics&rft.date=1989&rft.aulast=Dahl&rft.aufirst=Robert&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTodd_Donovan2014" class="citation book cs1">Todd Donovan; et al. (2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=G4ocCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA131"><i>State and Local Politics</i></a>. Cengage Learning. p. 131. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781285441405" title="Special:BookSources/9781285441405"><bdi>9781285441405</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=State+and+Local+Politics&rft.pages=131&rft.pub=Cengage+Learning&rft.date=2014&rft.isbn=9781285441405&rft.au=Todd+Donovan&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DG4ocCgAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA131&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBaizidi2019" class="citation journal cs1">Baizidi, Rahim (2019-09-02). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02185377.2019.1642772">"Paradoxical class: paradox of interest and political conservatism in middle class"</a>. <i>Asian Journal of Political Science</i>. <b>27</b> (3): 272–285. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02185377.2019.1642772">10.1080/02185377.2019.1642772</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0218-5377">0218-5377</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:199308683">199308683</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Asian+Journal+of+Political+Science&rft.atitle=Paradoxical+class%3A+paradox+of+interest+and+political+conservatism+in+middle+class&rft.volume=27&rft.issue=3&rft.pages=272-285&rft.date=2019-09-02&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A199308683%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft.issn=0218-5377&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1080%2F02185377.2019.1642772&rft.aulast=Baizidi&rft.aufirst=Rahim&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1080%2F02185377.2019.1642772&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ATyranny+of+the+majority" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> </section><div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 section-heading" onclick="mfTempOpenSection(7)"><span class="indicator mf-icon mf-icon-expand mf-icon--small"></span><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"> <a role="button" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Further reading" class="cdx-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--icon-only cdx-button--weight-quiet "> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon--edit"></span> <span>edit</span> </a> </span> </div><section class="mf-section-7 collapsible-block" id="mf-section-7"> <ul><li>Nyirkos, Tamas (2018). <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Majority-History-Concepts-Challenges-ebook/dp/B079K2VYBZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539448927&sr=1-1&keywords=nyirkos">The Tyranny of the Majority: History, Concepts, and Challenges</a></i>. New York: Routledge.</li> <li>Volk, Kyle G. (2014). <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Moral-Minorities-Making-American-Democracy/dp/0199371911/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404596908&sr=1-1&keywords=moral+minorities">Moral Minorities and the Making of American Democracy</a></i>. New York: Oxford University Press.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://edsitement.neh.gov/curriculum-unit/alexis-de-tocqueville-tyranny-majority">Curriculum on Alexis de Tocqueville on Tyranny of the Majority</a> from EDSITEment from the <a href="/wiki/National_Endowment_for_the_Humanities" title="National Endowment for the Humanities">National Endowment for the Humanities</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div> <!-- NewPP limit report Parsed by mw‐web.codfw.main‐f69cdc8f6‐psqwl Cached time: 20241123193504 Cache expiry: 2592000 Reduced expiry: false Complications: [vary‐revision‐sha1, show‐toc] CPU time usage: 0.947 seconds Real time usage: 1.193 seconds Preprocessor visited node count: 5987/1000000 Post‐expand include size: 157241/2097152 bytes Template argument size: 12166/2097152 bytes Highest expansion depth: 12/100 Expensive parser function count: 11/500 Unstrip recursion depth: 1/20 Unstrip post‐expand size: 80662/5000000 bytes Lua time usage: 0.572/10.000 seconds Lua memory usage: 16325248/52428800 bytes Number of Wikibase entities loaded: 0/400 --> <!-- Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template) 100.00% 1008.727 1 -total 19.69% 198.658 22 Template:Annotated_link 15.79% 159.315 1 Template:Reflist 13.40% 135.159 1 Template:Democracy 12.76% 128.750 1 Template:Politics_series_sidebar 12.43% 125.411 1 Template:Langx 12.32% 124.296 1 Template:Sidebar_with_collapsible_lists 10.55% 106.445 5 Template:Cite_book 7.55% 76.172 1 Template:Short_description 7.29% 73.559 5 Template:Navbox --> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwiki:pcache:idhash:348853-0!canonical and timestamp 20241123193504 and revision id 1257179142. Rendering was triggered because: page-view --> </section></div> <!-- MobileFormatter took 0.020 seconds --><!--esi <esi:include src="/esitest-fa8a495983347898/content" /> --><noscript><img src="https://login.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&mobile=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&oldid=1257179142">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&oldid=1257179142</a>"</div></div> </div> <div class="post-content" id="page-secondary-actions"> </div> </main> <footer class="mw-footer minerva-footer" role="contentinfo"> <a class="last-modified-bar" href="/w/index.php?title=Tyranny_of_the_majority&action=history"> <div class="post-content last-modified-bar__content"> <span class="minerva-icon minerva-icon-size-medium 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class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE" title="Тирания на мнозинството – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Тирания на мнозинството" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flertalsdiktatur" title="Flertalsdiktatur – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Flertalsdiktatur" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiran%C3%ADa_de_la_mayor%C3%ADa" title="Tiranía de la mayoría – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Tiranía de la mayoría" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF_%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%AB%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA" title="استبداد اکثریت – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="استبداد اکثریت" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannie_de_la_majorit%C3%A9" title="Tyrannie de la majorité – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Tyrannie de la majorité" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%8B%A4%EC%88%98%EC%9D%98_%ED%9A%A1%ED%8F%AC" title="다수의 횡포 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="다수의 횡포" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dittatura_della_maggioranza" title="Dittatura della maggioranza – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Dittatura della maggioranza" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%91" title="עריצות הרוב – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="עריצות הרוב" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrannis_maioritatis" title="Tyrannis maioritatis – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Tyrannis maioritatis" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%BA%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%87" title="استبداد الاغلبيه – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="استبداد الاغلبيه" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirannie_van_de_meerderheid" title="Tirannie van de meerderheid – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Tirannie van de meerderheid" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%95%B0%E3%81%AE%E6%9A%B4%E5%8A%9B" title="数の暴力 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="数の暴力" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flertallets_tyranni" title="Flertallets tyranni – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Flertallets tyranni" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrania_wi%C4%99kszo%C5%9Bci" title="Tyrania większości – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Tyrania większości" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirania_da_maioria" title="Tirania da maioria – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Tirania da maioria" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatura_majorit%C4%83%C8%9Bii" title="Dictatura majorității – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Dictatura majorității" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0" title="Тирания большинства – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Тирания большинства" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemmist%C3%B6n_tyrannia" title="Enemmistön tyrannia – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Enemmistön tyrannia" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majoritetsf%C3%B6rtryck" title="Majoritetsförtryck – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Majoritetsförtryck" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B0%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%9A%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9C%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%A2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%82%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81" title="ระบบเผด็จการโดยเสียงข้างมาก – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="ระบบเผด็จการโดยเสียงข้างมาก" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87o%C4%9Funlu%C4%9Fun_tiranl%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1" title="Çoğunluğun tiranlığı – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Çoğunluğun tiranlığı" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%9A%E6%95%B8%E4%BA%BA%E6%9A%B4%E6%94%BF" title="多數人暴政 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="多數人暴政" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%9A%E6%95%B8%E4%BA%BA%E6%9A%B4%E6%94%BF" title="多數人暴政 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="多數人暴政" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li></ul> </section> </div> <div class="minerva-footer-logo"><img src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" alt="Wikipedia" width="120" height="18" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"/> </div> <ul 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