Democracies also make these tradeoffs without political consequences, if the people who are subject to the negative externalities are sufficiently disenfranchis

Democracies also make these tradeoffs without political consequences, if the people who are subject to the negative externalities are sufficiently disenfranchised, or are simply a powerless minority that we can run over, or are ones whose concerns are sidelined for the benefit of a larger umbrella movement. I completely agree with the parent poster. This is not a democracy vs autocracy question. This is entirely an individualism[1] versus a collectivism[2] question. [1] Which prioritizes 'do not actively harm any individual.' [3] [2] Which prioritizes 'do what is best for the group as a whole.' [3] [3] While some societies are pretty clearly democratic, and some are pretty clearly autocratic (and some are a mix of both), every society is, to a mixture of degrees, individualistic, and to a mixture of degrees, collectivist. Where they differ is in where the line gets drawn, and on which questions.