Majority Tyranny

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Whenever making a tough decision, whether it be in a classroom, with friends, or on a sport team, the saying has always been majority rules. Whatever the largest sum of people want tends to always win. This idea correlates directly with our government today. Majority tyranny is a bigger threat than minority tyranny to American democracy today because the size and power that majority groups obtain make it easier to gain control or possibly overthrow our government. In federalist paper 10, James Madison talked about the threats that factions pose in our government today. Another example of majority's taking control in our world today are political parties: with the democratic and republican parties in control today, it is nearly impossible for …show more content…
He defined factions as “groups of people who gather together to protect and promote their special economic interests and political opinions.” According to this definition, large factions are no different than majority groups. Madison discussed how “factions are a result of human nature,” and “cannot be avoided.” The same concept applies to majority groups. James Madison talked about the threat of majorities when saying that “when a faction gains power, they use that power to promote their own interest, even at the expense of minorities.” In this short sentence, he summarized the danger that majority groups posed against society then, and still pose against society today. Majority tyranny is more dangerous than minority tyranny to American democracy today because as James Madison said in Federalist 10, often times majorities are willing to do whatever it takes to benefit themselves, even at the expense of minorities. a good example of a majority tyranny might be Donald Trump and his supporters. He and his supporters are so intent on promoting their agenda that they are not willing to consider the needs of the minority. This creates an environment of fear and mistrust of the majority which is far more dangerous than a fear of the

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