Football strategy does not originate in a scrimmage: it is useless to expect solutions in a political campaign.
Walter LippmannRead
The justification of majority rule in politics is not to be found in its ethical superiority.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Majority rule does not inherently possess ethical superiority; its justification lies elsewhere.
Walter Lippmann's quote emphasizes that the rationale behind majority rule in political decisions is not based on its moral correctness or ethical standing. Instead, the effectiveness and legitimacy of majority rule must be assessed through other lenses, such as its capacity to maintain order, reflect societal norms, or uphold democratic principles, rather than deeming it superior in a moral sense.
Themes
Majority RulePoliticsEthicsDemocracyGovernance
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, one might quote Lippmann to argue against blind faith in majority decisions.
More from Walter Lippmann
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The tendency of the casual mind is to pick out or stumble upon a sample which supports or defies its prejudices, and then to make it the representative of a whole class.
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The private citizen, beset by partisan appeals for the loan of his Public Opinion, will soon see, perhaps, that these appeals are not a compliment to his intelligence, but an imposition on his good nature and an insult to his sense of evidence.
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