Why is democracy not considered simply a rule of majority?
Answers
Answered by
226
Hi there!
Democracy is not simply the rule of majority because in democracy it is considered that the views of the minority are not dominated by the majority.
Further,
1. In democratic set-up, the majority always needs to work with the minority, so that governments represent the general view.
2. Majority and minority opinions are not permanent.
3. The rule by majority does not become rule by majority community in terms of religion, race, linguistic groups, etc.
4. Rule by majority means that in case of every decision and election, different persons and groups may and can form a majority.
5. Democracy remains democracy only when every citizen of a country has a chance of being majority at some point of time.
6. If someone is barred from being in majority on the basis of birth, i.e. on the basis of caste and religion then the democratic rules are not applicable for that persons or groups.
Hope it helps!
Democracy is not simply the rule of majority because in democracy it is considered that the views of the minority are not dominated by the majority.
Further,
1. In democratic set-up, the majority always needs to work with the minority, so that governments represent the general view.
2. Majority and minority opinions are not permanent.
3. The rule by majority does not become rule by majority community in terms of religion, race, linguistic groups, etc.
4. Rule by majority means that in case of every decision and election, different persons and groups may and can form a majority.
5. Democracy remains democracy only when every citizen of a country has a chance of being majority at some point of time.
6. If someone is barred from being in majority on the basis of birth, i.e. on the basis of caste and religion then the democratic rules are not applicable for that persons or groups.
Hope it helps!
Answered by
51
Because today's majority maybe tomorrow's minority.
So in a democracy, the majority makes the decisions with certain frame work (like the Constitution)... if the majority wants to make a decision against the frame work, usually the frame work wins. It is called the Rule of Law and it is also the basic building block of a democracy.
For Example:
The majority decided that racist speech is hateful and should not be tolerated, and persons that publicly make hateful racist speeches should be punishable by law.
This can indeed be the majority opinion, but the frame work (US Constitution) clearly stated that the freedom of speech cannot be infringed, so even if the majority wants to pass a law like that, it will very likely be shut-downed.
And this is how a democracy should function, because the majority are not always right, in fact the majority makes mistakes often. And there should be some Time-Tested Frame Work that make sure the majority doesn't make a bad and in revertible mistake.
So in a democracy, the majority makes the decisions with certain frame work (like the Constitution)... if the majority wants to make a decision against the frame work, usually the frame work wins. It is called the Rule of Law and it is also the basic building block of a democracy.
For Example:
The majority decided that racist speech is hateful and should not be tolerated, and persons that publicly make hateful racist speeches should be punishable by law.
This can indeed be the majority opinion, but the frame work (US Constitution) clearly stated that the freedom of speech cannot be infringed, so even if the majority wants to pass a law like that, it will very likely be shut-downed.
And this is how a democracy should function, because the majority are not always right, in fact the majority makes mistakes often. And there should be some Time-Tested Frame Work that make sure the majority doesn't make a bad and in revertible mistake.
Similar questions