What’s Wrong with the Majority

IRVINE, CA—"If the majority of Americans voted for a Christian democracy or a Jewish democracy or an Islamic democracy, i.e., a theocracy, in this country, would you accept it?" asks Dr. Andrew Bernstein, a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute.

The answer to Dr. Bernstein's question is not just a choice between unlimited majority rule and the First Amendment's prohibition against the establishment of religion. "Those who advocate unlimited majority rule," says Bernstein, "not only endanger the First Amendment, they threaten all our freedoms and the very foundations on which this country is built.

"America is not a democracy, i.e., an unlimited majority rule system; it is a constitutionally limited republic. And the primary limiter is individual rights. All of our freedoms, such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press, are necessary conditions required to exercise our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It does not matter what the majority wants, individual rights come first; the majority, no matter its number or religion, may not vote to ignore, take away or violate anyone's individual rights."