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4 THREE FALLACIE S CONCERNIN G MAJORITIES, MINORITIES , AN D DEMOCRATIC POLITIC S IAN SHAPIR O I. A N AMERICA N SUBJEC T Minorities an d majorit y rul e i s ou r subject—an d i t i s a pecu liarly America n one . Th e trick y tas k fo r thi s constitutiona l de mocracy i s to devise "way s of protectin g minoritie s fro m major ity tyrann y tha t i s no t a flagrant contradictio n o f th e principl e Thanks ar e du e t o John Chapma n an d Ala n Wertheime r fo r invitin g m e t o deliver a n earlie r versio n o f thi s chapte r t o Th e America n Societ y fo r Politica l and Lega l Philosoph y i n Septembe r 1987 , an d fo r th e helpfu l comment s I received fro m the m an d th e tw o commentators , Dian a Meyer s an d Frederic k Schauer. Subsequen t version s wer e presente d t o a semina r sponsore d b y th e Center fo r Philosoph y an d Publi c Policy and th e Universit y o f Marylan d Politic s Department, an d t o th e Ne w Englan d Politica l Scienc e Association' s Annua l Meeting i n th e Sprin g o f 198 8 i n Cambridge , Massachusetts . Particularl y help ful wer e th e comment s o f Stephe n Elkin , Joe Oppenheimer , an d Karo l Solta n in Baltimore , an d thos e o f Jeffrey Abramson , Josh Cohen , an d Shanno n Stim son i n Cambridge . Usefu l suggestions , som e o f whic h hav e bee n heeded , hav e also bee n receive d fro m Le a Brilmayer , Ja y Budziszewski , Jule s Coleman , Robert Dahl , Davi d Lumsdaine , Barr y Nalebuff , Dougla s Rae , Susa n Rose Ackerman , Roger s Smith , and Steve n Wizner . Th e researc h assistanc e of Debr a Morris and Gran t Reehe r i s acknowledged. Whil e working on thi s article I hav e 80 IAN SHAPIR O of majorit y rule. " The term s o f th e proble m ar e set , John Har t Ely elaborates , b y th e fac t tha t " a majorit y wit h untrammele d power t o se t governmenta l polic y i s i n a positio n t o dea l itsel f benefits a t th e expens e o f th e remainin g minority. " I n Bruc e Ackerman's words , "n o moder n contractaria n ha s succeede d i n vindicating majorit y rul e without , a t th e sam e time , undermin ing th e foundatio n o f individua l rights. " As William Rike r an d Barry Weingas t reiterate , majorit y rul e "afford s n o protectio n against arbitrary action s or against actions directed a t benefitin g the temporar y majorit y a t some minority's expense." l Yet at other time s and i n other place s this property o f major ity rule mad e i t simultaneously attractiv e t o the disenfranchise d and frightenin g t o entrenche d elites . Fo r th e Englis h Chartist s in th e 1830 s an d 1840s , majorit y rul e wit h universa l suffrag e was an oppositiona l ideal . I n a society based o n hereditar y wealt h and politica l privilege , majorit y rul e wa s desire d precisel y t o dispossess a minority o f ill-gotten gains , and nineteenth-centur y liberals lik e Mil l an d Tocqueville , wh o endorse d expansio n o f the franchise, wer e for thi s reason ambivalen t abou t it. 2 From th e beginning th e American preoccupatio n wit h major ity rul e wa s different . Th e proble m wa s t o domesticat e an d institutionalize an idea whose historical use had been to destabilize institutions . I n th e contex t o f a societ y that , i f no t full y pluralist, appeare d t o...

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