this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2023
113 points (98.3% liked)
United States | News & Politics
7211 readers
533 users here now
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
OK, yes pure democracy has problems. There should be some limits on what can be democratically decided. Something like the Athenian process of ostracism probably felt good, but it's pretty ripe for abuse. Or say, should slavery be put up for a vote? I'd lean towards "no". But, something like legalizing marijuana seems like a pretty good place for democracy to step in and stop decades of stupid by our politicians.
A major problem with majority rule is the tyranny of the majority.
What happened in Ohio was the majority of voters acting to protect certain minorities. Women who have a need for abortion services are a minority. Marijuana is only illegal so that people in minority demographics can be convicted of felonies and have their voting rights taken away.
so, an example of democracy working how it ideally should, instead of how it could be expected to.
Absolutely, and it makes it very clear which voters are only thinking of themselves, and which voters are thinking of society at large.