The Dangers of “Majority Rules” in Ethical Situations, Essay Example

The majority rule is a decision making rule that selects the alternative which exceeds more than half votes among two alternatives. It is a simple binary decision rule utilized often in influential decision-making bodies inclusive of the legislatures of democratic nations. Though simple and democratic, the majority rule poses some problems especially when applied in making ethical decisions of a democratic society. This paper discusses some ostensible dangers of relying on the majority rules in ethical situations. It is presumed that ethical issues are sensitive to be decided by such a simple method.

The majority rule has often been praised for its fairness and decisiveness. Its proponents claim that unlike the supermajoritarian rule, it treats all the alternatives equally and there is always a unique winner. However, the rule is likely to lead the society to a “tyranny of the majority” if widely applied in making ethical issues. This is a situation whereby the majority though wrong, continues to dominate in enacting policies that favor them oppressing the minority at long run. For instance, in a society which is dominated by a certain religion, most ethical decisions will be inclined to the values of that religion and if by any chance there might be some people with different opinions, such opinions might never be see the light of the day. Ethical decisions are mostly prone to influence ranging from social to political influence. This implies that individuals can make decisions out of influence and constitute the majority. On the other hand, majority rule provide limited incentives for parties to reach a consensus or to brainstorm a method of dealing with the issue that can serve the interests of all participants. Contrary, the incentive in the method is to compromise just enough to form a majority coalition. Therefore, most decisions will favor the influential groups even if they lack integrity. Lastly, the majority rule has the potential of dividing the society into two competing coalitions of liberals and conservatives if widely practiced in making ethical decisions (those opposing and those proposing). A good example of this is the pro-life and the pro-choice movements on abortion.

The majority rule is a simple method of making decision; the majority wins. The proponents of the system claim it is democratic and fair but looking at it under the lenses of ethical issues, the proclaimed fairness and democracy seem to lack. The system is open to influence and gives little attention to consensus building. The results are dire. The society can be divided into two opposing groups and ethically wrong decisions have the potential to dominate. In ethical situations, the majority should not be deemed as right since they might be the morally corrupt or the morally eroded individuals.