Look up tyranny in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Look up majority in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The phrase tyranny of the majority, used in discussing systems of democracy and majority rule, is a criticism of the scenario in which decisions made by a majority under that system would place that majority's interests so far above a minority's interest as to be comparable in cruelty to "tyrannical" despots.^[1] Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Majoritarianism (often also called majority rule) is a political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the... A scenario (from the Italian, that which is pinned to the scenery) is a brief description of an event or a series of events. ... A tyrant (from Greek τυραννος) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Limits on the decisions that can be made by such majorities, such as constitutional limits on the powers of parliament and use of a bill of rights in a parliamentary democracy, are commonly meant to avoid the problem.^[2] Bill of Rights refers to documents important to the history and constitution of several countries. ... A parliamentary system, or parliamentarism, is distinguished by the executive branch of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. ...

The phrase has variously been sourced to John Stuart Mill in On Liberty (1859) and Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America (1835, 1840). John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873), British philosopher, political economist and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... On Liberty is a philosophical work in the English language by 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, first published in 1859. ... For other uses, see Tocqueville (disambiguation) Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (Verneuil-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, July 29, 1805– Cannes, April 16, 1859) was a French political thinker and historian. ... De la démocratie en Amérique (published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville on the United States in the 1830s and its strengths and weaknesses. ...

The concept itself was popular with Friedrich Nietzsche and the phrase (in translation) is used at least once in the first sequel to Human, All Too Human (1879). Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a 19th-century German philosopher. ... Human, All Too Human (Menschliches, Allzumenschliches) is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche, originally published in 1878. ...

In 1994, legal scholar Lani Guinier used the phrase as the title for a collection of law review articles. Lani Guinier (born 1950) is arguably one of the foremost American civil rights scholars in the United States. ... A law review is a scholarly journal focusing on legal issues, normally published by an organization of students at a law school or through a bar association. ...

See also

• Ochlocracy i.e. mob rule
• Majoritarianism
• Elective dictatorship
• Dictatorship of the proletariat
• Individual anarchism
• Social anarchism
• Argumentum ad populum

Ochlocracy (Greek: οχλοκρατια; Latin: ochlocratia) is government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of constitutional authorities. ... Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society. ... The phrase elective dictatorship (also called executive dominance in political science) was coined by the former Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, in a Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the BBC in 1976[1]. It describes the state in which Parliament is dominated by... The dictatorship of the proletariat is a term employed by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program that refers to a transition period between capitalist and communist society in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat. The term refers to a... Theory and practice Issues History Culture By region Lists Related Anarchism Portal Politics Portal ·        Individualist anarchism (also anarchist individualism, anarcho-individualism, individualistic anarchism) refers to any of several traditions that hold that individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective body or public... Social anarchism is a term self-applied by many anarchists of the libertarian socialist thread of anarchism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

1. ^ John Stuart Mill. On Liberty, The Library of Liberal Arts edition, p.7. http://www.serendipity.li/jsmill/jsmill.htm
2. ^ A Przeworski, JM Maravall, I NetLibrary Democracy and the Rule of Law (2003) p.223

• Lani Guinier, The Tyranny of the Majority (Free Press: 1994)
• Friedrich Nietzsche, at maxim 89, Human, All Too Human: First Sequel: Mixed Opinions and Maxims, 1879. Excerpts compiled from translations by Walter Kaufmann, R. J. Hollingdale, Paul V. Cohn., (Gersimon): http://www.geocities.com/thenietzschechannel/mom.htm