Tyranny of the Minority

Big Boss Man

 

Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call? 

You ain't so big,  you're just tall that's all 

A real big boss should be a decision of the majority, not defined by a minority characteristic, such as being tall.

The founding fathers wrote the US Constitution to prevent a tyranny of the majority. They did a good job of that. They did not do such a good job preventing a tyranny of a minority. 

America was founded by those who fled persecution in Europe for largely religious, but also expressing other, minority opinions. When they arrived in what would become the United States, it would have been hoped that they would be aware of that  persecution and would take steps to ensure that they did not themselves persecute others. However as the early history of the Colonies portrays, the persecution of other minorities when they themselves become majorities was rampant. The Constitution and its Amendments took steps to ensure that its republican democracy never became a tyranny of the majority. Minority opinions were protected. It was not the intent of the founding fathers to substitute a “tyranny of the minority” for a “tyranny of the majority”. 

However the election process of “winner take all”, “second place is first loser” has evolved into a system with only two parties. The protections are such that minority opinion can dominate. For example, the Gallup Poll announced that Donald Trump was the Most Admired Man in the US in 2020, beating out Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and Anthony Fauci. I would suggest that Donald Trump was NOT the second, third, or fourth choice of those selecting these other finishers. What is true is that the Donald Trump captured the largest number of FIRST place votes, even though that number of first place votes was a minority. This is NOT the way Most Valuable Players or Best College Football, or  Basketball, Team, or other polls work. Because it is an opinion, points are awarded for second, third, and other choices. In doing so the “best” does not have to capture the most first place votes, only the highest number of total voting points. 

The system in place, as opposed to the one in sports, or as proposed by rank choice voting, ultimately evolves into a two-party system, with a winner and a loser. It also leads to a polarized system where the losers may seek to overturn the determination that they are the loser by any means possible. Protection of a minority does not mean domination by that minority.