What's wrong with majority voting?

i should write more about this myself, but why bother when theres this:

What's wrong with majority voting?

Many of us have been brought up in a culture which believes that the western-style system with one-person-one-vote and elected leaders is the supreme form of democracy.

Yet in the very nations which shout loudest about the virtues of democracy, many people don't even bother voting anymore, because they feel that it doesn't make any difference to their lives.

When people vote for an executive they also hand over their power to make decisions and to effect change. This goes hand in hand with creating a majority and a minority, with the minority often feeling deeply unhappy with the outcome.

It is true that majority voting enables even controversial decisions to be taken in a minimum amount of time, however there is nothing to say that this decision will be a wise one or morally acceptable.

After all the majority of colonial Americans supported the 'right' to hold slaves. People in a majority rule system don't need to listen to the dissenting minority, or take their opinion seriously because they can simply outvote them. Majority rule systems say that the majority is infallible and they have nothing to learn from the minority.

This creates a situation where there are winners and losers and promotes an aggressive culture and conflict, and lends itself to steam rolling an idea over a minority that dissents with the majority opinion.

The will of the majority is seen as the will of the whole group, with the minority expected to accept and carry out the decision, even if against their most deeply held convictions and principles.

A vivid example is the imprisonment of conscientious objectors against military service in democratic countries such as Germany.

Read on...

- And of course the jailing of Asylum Seekers in Australia... People argue that this cruel treatment of refugees is fine as long as the "majority" vote for it...