Is Majority Rule Good Enough?

The question is not just philosophical.  Washington voters are being asked this question very directly in the form of Initiative 1053, which would require a 2/3 vote of the legislature in order to take certain actions, namely increasing taxes.  Opponents say this is impure, that democracy is built on majority rule, not “minority rule”.  Just look at the roadblocks to progress that the cloture rules in the U.S. Senate have created by allowing a minority of 41 to block not just tax increases, but any bill.

But is democracy best served by majority rule?  Wasn’t this country founded by those opposing majority rule as it was executed by the British Parliament?  Sure, the rally cry was “No Taxation Without Representation!”  But do you really think that if the American colonies had held seats in Parliament and had been allowed to voice a minority opinion, and then been taxed to the hilt by the majority, we would have simply accepted it and would be flying the Union Jack to this day?

No, democracy is not best served by majority rule.  Majority rule is a brutal, winner take all means of deciding issues.  It should be reserved for deciding only those issues where a minority position cannot be accommodated, such as decisions about the physical defense of the nation.  In the daily business of running the country or the state, majority rule is a seriously flawed methodology.

Think of it this way – I have three daughters, and when choosing what movie to order on Pay Per View, majority rule will perpetually doom me to watching romantic comedies at best, or teen vampire romances at worst.  My only hope, as a minority, is that the majority at some point ceases to care (because they’re off doing something else), and then I can order my Sci-fi thriller.

But there is no aspect of life today where the government ceases to care, and therefore everything that we do is subject to the will of the majority.  I work with a number of trade associations where membership is voluntary.  In a situation where membership is voluntary, leadership would be INSANE to pursue an agenda that was supported by only 51% of the members.  Perhaps the major oversight of our current political leaders is that for many businesses, residency in the U.S. or Washington State IS voluntary.  One need look no farther than Boeing for an illustration of this fact.

And yet the political parties continue to pursue policies that have razor thin margins of support, and candidates who receive 53% of the popular vote strike out for the capitol with a “mandate from the people.”  What people mean when they say they are tired of partisanship is not that they want to put the minority in charge, but that they want our leaders to pursue policies that have more than the minimum amount of votes to pass.

To that end, Initiative 1053 is a step in the right direction.  If only the people of Washington could prevent the legislature from side-stepping the supermajority requirement every two years, as they did this year.  Californians accomplished this by embedding a supermajority requirement in their constitution.  Unfortunately, to do that here would take the support of the Washington State Legislature.  In the meantime, Washington voters will have to patiently repeat ourselves every few years – we do not want our taxes raised unless 2 out of 3 legislators agree that it is necessary.