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Majority Rule Quotes

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Majority Rule Quotes

“The success of totalitarian movements among the masses meant the end of two illusions of democratically ruled countries in general and of European nation-states and their party system in particular. The first was that the people in its majority had taken an active part in government and that each individual was in sympathy with one’s own or somebody else’s party. On the contrary, the movements showed that the politically neutral and indifferent masses could easily be the majority in a democratically ruled country, that therefore a democracy could function according to rules which are actively recognized by only a minority. The second democratic illusion exploded by the totalitarian movements was that these politically indifferent masses did not matter, that they were truly neutral and constituted no more than the inarticulate backward setting for the political life of the nation. Now they made apparent what no other organ of public opinion had ever been able to show, namely, that democratic government had rested as much on the silent approbation and tolerance of the indifferent and inarticulate sections of the people as on the articulate and visible institutions and organizations of the country. Thus when the totalitarian movements invaded Parliament with their contempt for parliamentary government, they merely appeared inconsistent: actually, they succeeded in convincing the people at large that parliamentary majorities were spurious and did not necessarily correspond to the realities of the country, thereby undermining the self-respect and the confidence of governments which also believed in majority rule rather than in their constitutions.”

DemocracyTotalitarianismPolitical MovementsMajority RuleApolitical1969
Book:The Origins of Totalitarianism
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“Yet in his own estimate, one theme in particular dominated all others: the growing tyranny of the majority, the ever-increasing and most formidable barriers raised by the majority around the free expression of opinion, and, as a result, the frightening oneness of American thinking, the absence of eccentricity and divergence from the norm. A perfect liberty of the Mind exists in America, said Tocqueville, just as long as the sovereign majority has yet to decide its course. But once the majority has made up its mind, then all contrary thought must cease, and all controversy must be abandoned, not at the risk of death or physical punishment, but rather at the more subtle and more intolerable pain of ostracism, of being shunned by one's fellows, of being rejected by society. Throughout history kings and princely rulers had sought without success to control human thought, that most elusive and invisible power of all. Yet where absolute monarchs had failed, democracy succeeds, for the strength of the majority is unlimited and all pervasive, and the doctrines of equality and majority rule have substituted for the tyranny of the few over the many the more absolute, imperious and widely accepted tyranny of the many over the few.”

DemocracyTyrannyMajority RuleTyranny Of The Majority1956
Book:Democracy in America
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“In an unconscious dynamic within most societies, the majority, or more accurately, the ruling or predominant minority, predicate or dictate the 'accepted' paradigm, traditions and beliefs; and the millions of people with unusual interests and even mystical experiences don't know that they are actually a huge and mostly voiceless group in the society.”

ConditioningMajority RuleEnculturation
Book:Inner Journeys, Cosmic Sojourns: Life transforming stories, adventures and messages from a spiritual hypnotherapist's casebook
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“In years gone by, in Ancient Egypt for example, the human ruler was almost deified; that or, as in China, he (or just once a she) was regarded as the son (child) of Heaven. In Europe after the Dark Ages, a little modesty prevailed and, from London to Moscow, citizens at all levels of society believed in the divine right of kings. We now know that right was wrong. In like manner, in years to come, people may well look back and regard, not so much the underlying principle behind the right of majority rule, but the practice of basing such rule on the majority vote, as being a fundamentally flawed interpretation of a true democracy.”

DemocracyVotingElectionsMajority Rule
Book:From Majority Rule to Inclusive Politics
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“There is an attitude in the West which tends to assume that western norms are adequate and capable of universal application. Admittedly, there are some people who criticise the predominant western belief in growth economics, who worry about basing a national economy on debt, and who question the very notion that people and/or institutions may own land and other natural resources. Alas, there are all too few who question the western and now almost ubiquitous democratic structure which is based on the divisive binary vote”

DemocracyVotingColonialismElectionsMajority Rule
Book:From Majority Rule to Inclusive Politics
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“One problem with democracy as it plays in our country is that the majority rules so hard; we seem bent on dividing all things into a contest of Win and Lose, and declaring that the Losers are losers. Nearly half of us are routinely asked to disappear while the slim majority works its will. But the playing field is the planet earth, and I for one have no place else to go.”

AmericaPoliticsDemocracyAmerican DemocracyMajority Rule
Book:Small Wonder
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“Come the next election, in a two-party or two-party-plus system, a very small swing amongst the voters, a slight shift of the median voter on the normal distribution curve, may lead to a complete change of government, whereupon a new set of persons takes over, and a new set of ministers accepts collective responsibility for policies which, in some instances, completely overturn the decisions of the former administration. Yet all is due to just a very small swing. Majoritarian politics, which some claim offers stable government, is actually part of a system which perpetuates instability, especially if viewed from a long-term perspective.”

GovernmentPoliticsElectionsMajority RuleTwo Party SystemMajoritarianism
Book:From Majority Rule to Inclusive Politics
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“Ultimately, there is no way that laws or institutions can prevent a democracy from becoming illiberal. All our institutionalized protections can be undone, given enough time, by an unsympathetic majority. The constitution can be amended, new judges can be appointed, agencies can be dismantled, and freedoms can be curtailed. And once a democracy devolves into illiberal majoritarianism, it rarely stays democratic for long. 'If America ever loses its liberty,' Tocqueville prophesied, 'the fault will surely lie with the omnipotence of the majority, which may drive minorities to despair and force them to resort to physical force.' Institutions can slow down the march toward majoritarian tyranny, but they cannot stop it. To remain truly democratic, people have to be willing to protect each other's rights and interests even when they control enough votes to do otherwise. They have to recognize each other's right to exist, express opinions, and participate fully in the political process. And they have to preserve the laws and institutions that guarantee human rights and civil liberties for everyone, not just for the ruling majority. We must have enough regard for each other that we decline to use the mechanisms of democracy to treat our fellow citizens unjustly. Another way to say this is that we must not be enemies. We must be friends.”

PoliticsFriendshipDemocracyEthicsMajority RuleCivic Dialogue
Book:We Must Not Be Enemies: Restoring America's Civic Tradition
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“How do I hate the tide of vulgar thought! Profane, unjust, with childish folly fraught; It breaks and bends the rays of truth divine, And by its own conceptions measures mine. [...] Hippocrates arrived in season, Just as his patient (void of reason!) Was searching whether reason's home, In talking animals and dumb, Be in the head, or in the heart, Or in some other local part. All calmly seated in the shade, Where brooks their softest music made, He traced, with study most insane, The convolutions of a brain; And at his feet lay many a scroll-- The works of sages on the soul. Indeed, so much absorb'd was he, His friend, at first, he did not see. A pair so admirably match'd, Their compliments erelong despatch'd. In time and talk, as well as dress, The wise are frugal, I confess. Dismissing trifles, they began At once with eagerness to scan The life, and soul, and laws of man; Nor stopp'd till they had travell'd o'er all The ground, from, physical to moral. My time and space would fail To give the full detail.”

InsanityMajority RuleMisconceptions
Book:Fables
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“The democratic ideal springs from the ideas of liberty, equality, majority rule through free elections, protection of the rights of minorities, and freedom to subscribe to multiple loyalties in matters of religion, economics, and politics rather than to a total loyalty to the state. The spirit of democracy is the idea of importance and worth in the individual, and faith in the kind of world where the individual can achieve as much of his potential as possible.”

WorldKindIdeasMatterStatesSpiritIndividualLibertyDemocracyRightsAchieveSpringIdealsEconomicsImportanceElectionMajorityDemocraticProtectionLoyaltyMinoritiesMultipleRules For RadicalsMajority RuleFree ElectionsDemocratic Ideals
Book:Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
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“A fatal defect in majority rule is that by its very nature it abolishes itself. Majority rule must inevitably become minority rule: the majority is too big to handle itself; it organizes itself into committees ... which in their turn resolve themselves into a committee of one.”

BigsTurnsDemocracyMajorityHandleMinoritiesResolveOrganizeCommitteesDefectsAbolishMajority Rule
Book:The New State: Group Organization the Solution of Popular Government
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“Majorities can be wrong, majorities can overrule rights of minorities. If majorities ruled, we could still have slavery. 80% of the population once enslaved 20% of the population. While run by majority rule that is ok. That is very flawed notion of what democracy is. Democracy has to take into account several things - proportionate requirements of people, not just needs of the majority, but also needs of the minority. Majority, especially in societies where the media manipulates public opinion, can be totally wrong and evil. People have to act according to conscience and not by majority vote.”

PeopleIfsNeedsStillsRunningEvilOpinionDemocracyRightsMediaConscienceVoteAccountsSlaveryMajorityNotionPopulationMinoritiesRequirementsPublic OpinionManipulateFlawedDemocracies HaveEvil PeopleMajority RuleMajority Vote
Author:Howard Zinn
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“All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.”

MindWould BeLawPoliticalPoliticsFreedomLibertyPrinciplesCasesRightsBearsProtectEqualSacredMajorityEqualityCivil RightsOppressionReasonableMinoritiesPatrioticOppressedEqual RightsFreedom LibertyPrice Of FreedomUnalienable RightsMajority RuleTyranny Of The MajorityEqual ProtectionPolitical OppressionMajority And MinorityMinority Government
Author:Thomas Jefferson
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“The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.”

EvilForcePartyDemocracySucceedElectionMajorityTyrannyFraudHypeDemocracies HaveVoting And DemocracyMajority RuleTyranny Of The MajorityAbsolute Power Corrupts AbsolutelyMajority And Minority
Book:The History of Freedom (and other Essays)
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“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

InspirationalWisdomMotivationalSuccessTimeReligionPoliticsSidesChangeBusinessPovertyCourageSuccessfulSocietyGreatnessInspirational LifeMajorityAtheistIndividualityLibertarianInsaneBeing YourselfFinding YourselfConformityBe YouBusiness SuccessPausesConformReflectingCritical ThinkingMy FutureNonconformityMotivational BusinessHumoristsJust Be YourselfMotivational SuccessInspirational SuccessConformistBest SuccessHappiness And SuccessFamous MotivationalJust Being YouAbout SuccessInspirations Being YourselfPausingMotivational ActionCool MotivationalNonconformistCourage To ChangeMajority RuleThinking Of YourselfInspirational CharacterKeep You MotivatedConformity And IndividualityMotivation And ChangeLife Best InspirationalReligion PoliticsTaking A BreakWar PropagandaDaily BusinessMajority VotePolitical WisdomMajority And MinoritySilent MajorityShort Motivational LifeKeep To YourselfPause ButtonConventional Life
Book:The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain
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“Democracies have been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their death.”

Has BeensFoundFreedomLibertyDemocracyRightsSecurityPropertyLibertarianViolentTyrannyFoundersFederal GovernmentSovereigntyFoundingFreedom And LibertyForms Of GovernmentFreedom LibertyPrivate PropertyProperty RightsLimited GovernmentDemocracies HaveFactionsContentionForefathersIndividual RightsFederalistLimiting GovernmentSpectaclesFederalist PapersTurbulenceLimited FreedomFounding Fathers DemocracyLimiting FreedomPersonal LibertyUnalienable RightsElectoral CollegeMajority RulePolitical RightsTyranny Founding FathersDemocracy In AmericaViolent DeathSecurity And FreedomPersonal SecuritySecurity And LibertyPersonal Rights
Book:The Federalist, on the New Constitution, Written in the Year 1788
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“The right to vote is a consequence, not a primary cause, of a free social system - and its value depends on the constitutional structure implementing and strictly delimiting the voters' power; unlimited majority rule is an instance of the principle of tyranny.”

ValuesSocialCausesLibertyPrinciplesEconomicDependsConsequenceEconomicsVoteMajorityStructureTyrannyInstancePrimariesVotersUnlimitedRight To VoteSocial SystemsImplementingMajority Rule
Book:The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z
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“Imagine if all of life were determined by majority rule. Every meal would be a pizza. Every pair of pants, even those in a Brooks Brothers suit, would be stone-washed denim. Celebrity diet and exercise books would be the only thing on the shelves at the library. And - since women are a majority of the population - we'd all be married to Mel Gibson.”

IfsLifeBookWould BeDemocracyImagineBrotherExerciseMarriedStonesMajorityLibraryPopulationDeterminedSuitsDietsMealsPairsPantsShelvesBeing MarriedPizzaBrooksDemocracies HaveDenimMajority RuleDiet And ExerciseBrooks Brothers
Book:Thrown Under the Omnibus
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“The principle of majority rule is the mildest form in which the force of numbers can be exercised. It is a pacific substitute for civil war in which the opposing armies are counted and the victory is awarded to the larger before any blood is shed. Except in the sacred tests of democracy and in the incantations of the orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend that the rule of the majority is not at bottom a rule of force.”

WarFormForceNumbersPrinciplesDemocracyTroubleBloodVictoryTestsArmySacredMajorityBottomCivil WarSubstitutesShedOpposingPacificOratorsMajority Rule
Book:Men of Destiny (Ppr)
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“Now majority rule is a precious, sacred thing worth dying for. But like other precious, sacred things .... it's not only worth dying for; it can make you wish you were dead. Imagine if all life were determined by majority rule. Every meal would be a pizza.”

IfsWould BeWishDemocracyImagineDyingElectionSacredMajorityDeterminedMealsCynicalPizzaWish YouMajority RuleSacred ThingsThings Worth Dying For
Book:Thrown Under the Omnibus
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“Democracy, or "majority rules," is another trick of our society to force us to do things we don't want to do. Even if we actually lived in a pure democracy (and the system we do live in is not even close), where everyone got a single vote on every subject, forcing the minority to obey the majority is no different to one man, if he had the power, forcing everyone else to do what he wanted them to-simply because he could.”

IfsMenWantDifferentWantedForceDemocracySubjectsPureVoteMajorityTricksMinoritiesOur SocietyOne ManMajority Rule
Author:William J. Murray
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