Concept

Tyranny of the majority

Overview

Tyranny of the majority occurs under majority rule when the preferences and interests of the majority dominate the political landscape, potentially sidelining or repressing minority groups and using majority rule to take non-democratic actions. This idea has been discussed by various thinkers, including John Stuart Mill in On Liberty and Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Philosophers who discussed Tyranny of the majority

• John Stuart Mill

Related ideas

• Edmund Burke
• John Adams
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• John Stuart Mill
• James Madison
• Alexis de Tocqueville
• Democracy in America
• Herbert Spencer
• Separation of powers
• Constitution of the United States
• Ayn Rand
• Herbert Marcuse
• Founding Fathers of the United States
• New York City
• Majority rule
• On Liberty

Place in the tradition

Part of Liberalism.

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