https://lidblog.com/tyranny-of-the-majority/
When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote his classic tome about the United States, “Democracy in America” in the 19th century, it became (and still is) a go-to book about the U.S.political system. While he praised the American political system, he had one major warning…the tyranny of the majority.
Unique to a democratic system of government (including a democratic republic), the tyranny of the majority happens when a part of the citizenry is ignored or mistreated because the largest segment of the government would not allow their smaller pieces to voice their opinions or discuss their programs.
De Tocqueville wasn’t saying that tyranny already existed in America. His point was that eventually, the majority will weaken and isolate individuals, creating a fertile ground for this new kind of oppression. Even before de Tocqueville wrote his warning, the writers of the constitution were worried about that kind of tyranny.
“Madison discusses the way republican government can serve as a check on the power of factions and the tyranny of the majority. “[I]n the federal republic of the United States… all authority in it will be derived from and dependent on the society, the society itself will be broken into so many parts, interests, and classes of citizens, that the rights of individuals, or of the minority, will be in little danger from interested combinations of the majority.” All of the Constitution’s checks and balances, Madison concludes, serve to preserve liberty by ensuring justice. Madison explained, “Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society.”