The Tyranny of the Majority: Revisiting the Debate

Abstract

Tocqueville is one of the great masters of political science and political philosophy, along with John Stuart Mill. Indeed, one could say that we are all disciples of both authors. On the one hand, Tocqueville was the first author to reflect upon the democratic paradigm understood as modern political constellation. On the other hand, the concept or ideal of liberty plays a central role in Tocqueville and Mill. Liberty, or freedom, is one of the foundations of every democratic project, and despite the recognition of the vital importance of the concept of equality, which after all affirmed itself as a necessary condition for future political developments of Tocqueville’s and Mill’s era, liberty was at the core of their concerns. In this paper I will revisit the arguments advanced by Tocqueville and Mill to warn us about the dangers of democracy, and more precisely, the tyranny of the majority. In order to do so, first, I will give a brief sketch of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and Mill’s On Liberty. Then, I will reflect upon the implications of the tyranny of the majority today. Finally, I will propose a set of measures that can counterbalance the anti-democratic tendencies of contemporary democracies.