3 ms·

The suggestion being made is that the unwashed masses don't know what's best for them, and need to be guided by the enlightened minority. The problem with this

The suggestion being made is that the unwashed masses don't know what's best for them, and need to be guided by the enlightened minority. The problem with this is that there isn't a minority that's fit to lead. No one group fully understands the needs and wants of a society. That's why, as imperfect as it is, it makes sense for every citizen (of voting age) to have an equal say in how a society is run.

andrepd 9y ago
>The suggestion being made is that the unwashed masses don't know what's best for them, and need to be guided by the enlightened minority. An enlightened millionaire minority, by the looks of it.
mac01021 9y ago
The phrase "tyranny of the majority" does not usually refer to an unenlightened majority making suboptimal decisions for itself (and therefore requiring the rule of a more enlightened minority). It more often refers to settings where a majority and a minority have conflicting interests, and in which the majority is inclined exploit the minority in ways where the damage endured by the exploited far outweighs the benefit to the beneficiaries. The phrase has been uttered: "Democracy can be like two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner." EG: - A majority of city-dwellers will vote to destroy the homes of the forest people to improve the development of their cities, however slightly. - A majority of old people will vote to tax the young more heavily to achieve a transfer of wealth, even though the gains of each beneficiary is smaller than the loss of each loser - That same majority of old people, finding that their preferences in nearly every domain are different from those of the young, might vote to raise the voting age. - ...
- ZenoArrow 9y ago
  > "It more often refers to settings where a majority and a minority have conflicting interests" Look beyond the surface level. If you can't trust the majority to make the right decisions, who do you trust to do so? The only reason to bring up the tyranny of the majority is to imply that another (smaller) group could do it better.
  - tentaTherapist 9y ago
    Good question, but although I'm too stupid to come up with an answer, I hope there is one, because the whole majority-exploiting-the-minority scenario sounds awful.

andrepd 9y ago

>The suggestion being made is that the unwashed masses don't know what's best for them, and need to be guided by the enlightened minority. An enlightened millionaire minority, by the looks of it.

mac01021 9y ago

The phrase "tyranny of the majority" does not usually refer to an unenlightened majority making suboptimal decisions for itself (and therefore requiring the rule of a more enlightened minority). It more often refers to settings where a majority and a minority have conflicting interests, and in which the majority is inclined exploit the minority in ways where the damage endured by the exploited far outweighs the benefit to the beneficiaries. The phrase has been uttered: "Democracy can be like two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner." EG: - A majority of city-dwellers will vote to destroy the homes of the forest people to improve the development of their cities, however slightly. - A majority of old people will vote to tax the young more heavily to achieve a transfer of wealth, even though the gains of each beneficiary is smaller than the loss of each loser - That same majority of old people, finding that their preferences in nearly every domain are different from those of the young, might vote to raise the voting age. - ...

ZenoArrow 9y ago
> "It more often refers to settings where a majority and a minority have conflicting interests" Look beyond the surface level. If you can't trust the majority to make the right decisions, who do you trust to do so? The only reason to bring up the tyranny of the majority is to imply that another (smaller) group could do it better.
- tentaTherapist 9y ago
  Good question, but although I'm too stupid to come up with an answer, I hope there is one, because the whole majority-exploiting-the-minority scenario sounds awful.