Tyranny of the majority

When James Madison outlines the dangers of faction in Federalist No. 10, he defines faction as “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united...by some common...interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens.” 1 This wording is critical for examining both the goals and pivotal ideas of the federalist movement. At first glance, this definition seems to reflect the very real fear of mob uprising. Certainly, it’s tone insinuates an image of mob…

The election of a democratic government, accountable to the popular will of the public, represents the majority who have historically sought to subjugate those who hold differing moral beliefs or viewpoints. This oppression is known as the “tyranny of the majority” (Mill 1859, p. 10) and is not exclusively political in nature. Although each individual may legitimately pursue their own ambitions, society has the means to diminish the right to freedom of self-expression by ostracising an…

People are so attracted to the idea of equality and freedom that Tocqueville posits that the only possible result is the rule of the majority which has the potential to lead to despotism. Even before it properly manifest itself, the logic behind a democratic system is that everyone’s voice is equal, making the “just” way to rule would be to follow the word of the majority. In theory, this would be the best way to represent the interests of society, because it is an opinion shared by a large…

The government is expected to provide the basic necessities of life for it’s people. A socialist democratic state allows for the majority of the wealth to be held by the mass while still allowing individual freedoms to coexist. Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. Many western nations value individual freedoms while still demanding…

“Some consider it a new thing, they hope to be able to stop it; whereas others judge it irresistible because to them it seems the most continuous, the oldest, and the most permanent fact known in history” (Democracy in America 3). Here Tocqueville presents the inexorability of democracy. In essence, democracy is a continuously expanding force where “all events, like all men, serve its development.” (Democracy in America 6). Most importantly, Tocqueville argues that democracy is not upheld…

So, when the citizens who comprise the majority join forces into a singular unit, they are stronger together. After altering the traditional definition of democracy, Aristotle continues to discredit the notion that there is just one kind of democracy. “Laws, apart from those that reveal what…

John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville, both were advocates for individual freedom, and liberty through democracy. Mill and Tocqueville both feared tyranny, and promoted democracy so that citizens could have individual liberties, and thoughts. Mill’s ideal citizen in a democracy would be participatory, and opinionated in their beliefs. His citizen would not curtail any other citizen’s belief, no matter how far off of their beliefs it is. Tocqueville’s ideal citizen would be one who…

John Stewart Mill’s On Liberty is essential to understand not only liberty and the limits of government, but also on the limits of the majority and democracy to vitalize each individual to pursue his or her fullest potential. This is invaluable to understand for the best and the most prosperous path for the society to live in. To further explore Mill’s concept of liberty, two supplementary readings that I’ve used are a scholarly published article titled—John Stuart Mill and the “Marketplace of…

any recommendation that not a lot has changed. While on numerous major measures of state force (from the ability to raise assessments and incomes to the capacity to fling amassed power at adversaries) states are, in any event all through the vast majority of the OECD world, as intense if not more effective than their forerunners, it is likewise the case that the requests upon them have become quickly…

Tocqueville: Final Exam In Tocqueville’s Democracy in America he is hopeful because of the similarities and sameness that American democracy and French democracy shared and continue to share. Democracy is a pivotal part to America and the way of life American’s are accustomed to. From the founding fathers to the first colonies of New England democracy has always been a part of it. A country without full democracy cannot survive, looking at slavery when African Americans were no longer allowed…