Tyranny Of The Majority

October 25, 2011 by Robert Ringer


Most people would like to see a tax on someone other than themselves.

As liberals go, I actually had a touch of like for Joltin’ Joe Biden in his Senate days. But since he got in bed with the Marxists in the Executive Branch, it’s become increasingly difficult to give him a pass. Even so, I feel compelled to cut Joe some slack by blaming his maniacal remarks on mitigating circumstances — the fact that he’s a bona fide idiot.

Thus, when the Delaware Dimwit said that paying taxes is the most patriotic thing an already overtaxed American citizen can do, it wasn’t out of malice. Truth be known, I don’t believe he has any idea why he says such things. As near as I can tell, he simply appears to be on progressive autopilot.

Now Biden wants to increase the national debt even more by insisting that Congress pass the latest mini-stimulus, warning that if it doesn’t, there won’t be enough police to prevent rapes and robberies. Hmm… how weird. Offhand, I can’t recall a single instance where a law enforcement officer prevented a rape or robbery… but, hey, there’s always a first time.

In any event, whether nonsensical statements like this are the result of stupidity, lack of knowledge or malevolence, be prepared for them to come at you in torrents over the next 12 months. With Republican Presidential candidates taking bites out of each others’ arms, imagine what it’s going to be like when the Democrats take aim at the Republicans’ soon-to-be-known compromise candidate, whoever that might be.

The question no Republican seems interested in asking is: What gives any elected official the authority to increase taxes on American citizens whenever he has an urge to hand money to selected groups of his choosing? The Constitution doesn’t say that it’s the duty of the American citizen to play the role of a docile cow waiting to be milked whenever politicians decide they need more money.

One of the Democrats’ favorite new talking points is that recent polls show that 80 percent of Americans favor a new tax on millionaires and billionaires. Gosh, really? I would never have thought the average person would favor taxing America’s wealthiest citizens. Duh… of course most people would like to see a tax on someone other than themselves. Why not, so long as the government doesn’t tax them?

But, guess what? The Founding Fathers set up the rules of the game in such a way as to specifically prevent America from becoming a tyranny-of-the-majority nation, which is why polling questions about increasing taxes are irrelevant. Every person on this Earth has unlimited desires, but those desires don’t give anyone claim to the assets of others.

Lest anyone forget, America is supposed to be a republic. And in a true republic, the fact that 80 percent of the population favors committing aggression against a minority — including the minority of people who are the most financially successful — should carry no weight when it comes to legislation.

The fact is that majority rule violates the rights of others if it forces them to go along with actions with which they do not agree. Progressives would like us to believe that majority rule is morally virtuous. The reality, however, is that majority rule is moral cannibalism, because it makes it possible for one group of people, simply by being in the majority, to do whatever it wishes to those in the minority. In fact, theoretically speaking, majority rule could validate literal cannibalism.

The basic premise of majority rule is that good is defined as “that which is best for the greatest number of people.â€