Can the Majority be Discriminated Against ? ¹

Zusammenfassung

The question put forth in the title of my paper refers mainly to democratic societies. It is obvious that there are many societies where the majority is discriminated against and that this discrimination can take even legal forms as it was in the case of the caste System in India. In a democratic System, however, complaints about discrimination are raised usually by society’s minority. The Majority can impose its values, customs and habits upon society as a whole and ignore the existence of other groups. Justification of such activity can be based on simple quantitative prevalence which must be reflected in democratic procedures. As is well known such an ideology has caused serious scepticism about freedom of thought in democratic Systems. Alexis de Tocqueville for instance in bis book on democracy in America shows that in tyranny an artist can appeal either to a king or to a people and balance between these two powers. In democracy an artist has to conform to the taste and opinions of the majority if he or she wants to survive. This line of reasoning was developed by many thinkers criticising both totalitarian Systems and liberal democracy as examples of the impoverishing of culture. Hork-heimer, Adorno, Arendt, and Castoriadis agree that, as compared to classic patterns, modem culture adjusts itself to the views of the majority. On the other hand, mass education produces people lacking any real interest in art. Therefore, in this vision both sides of the relationship, audience and artists, are guüty of neglecting the authentic values present in heroic Greek times. I would not like to consider here all possible consequences of such a Standpoint, what is of importance is that the cultural sphere must surrender to the dictate of the majority. The ex-trapolation of this Statement would be an assumption that in democratic Systems culture should somehow mirror average opinions of society.