The phrase "tyranny of the majority" does not usually refer to an unenlightened majority making suboptimal decisions for itself (and therefore requiring the rul

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. - ...