"When you put a tiny and despised minority up for a popular vote, the minority usually loses"
About this Quote
Sullivan captures a perennial flaw in pure majoritarianism: when a small, stigmatized group is subjected to a plebiscite, the numbers and the passions line up against them. The point is less about cynicism than about political design. Democracies must balance the power of the many with protections for the few, because prejudice, fear, and the comfort of the status quo often outweigh empathy for people perceived as different.
As a gay conservative writer who championed marriage equality, Sullivan saw this dynamic during the wave of state referendums in the 2000s. Measures to ban same-sex marriage passed repeatedly at the ballot box, including Californias Proposition 8, even as public opinion was slowly moving. Campaigns turned the abstract idea of rights into a referendum on anxieties about tradition, religion, and social change. A tiny group had to persuade not just to win neutrality but to overcome active hostility. The results illustrated a classic concern voiced by Madison and Tocqueville: the tyranny of the majority is most acute when the minority is small and despised.
The observation is not an argument against democracy, but for constitutionalism. Rights that secure equal citizenship are designed to be shielded from day-to-day plebiscitary winds. Courts enforcing equal protection, legislatures acting with deliberation, and constitutions setting boundaries are all mechanisms to prevent a ballot from becoming a blunt instrument against vulnerable people. History bears this out: anti-miscegenation laws likely would have survived popular votes long after Loving v. Virginia; Californias attempt to undo fair-housing protections succeeded at the ballot but was reversed in Reitman v. Mulkey.
Sullivans line is a warning against romanticizing direct democracy. Popular votes can ratify progress once persuasion has done its work, but they are poor tools for recognizing the basic dignity of a group that lacks numbers and faces stigma. Justice often requires insulation from immediate passions while society catches up.
As a gay conservative writer who championed marriage equality, Sullivan saw this dynamic during the wave of state referendums in the 2000s. Measures to ban same-sex marriage passed repeatedly at the ballot box, including Californias Proposition 8, even as public opinion was slowly moving. Campaigns turned the abstract idea of rights into a referendum on anxieties about tradition, religion, and social change. A tiny group had to persuade not just to win neutrality but to overcome active hostility. The results illustrated a classic concern voiced by Madison and Tocqueville: the tyranny of the majority is most acute when the minority is small and despised.
The observation is not an argument against democracy, but for constitutionalism. Rights that secure equal citizenship are designed to be shielded from day-to-day plebiscitary winds. Courts enforcing equal protection, legislatures acting with deliberation, and constitutions setting boundaries are all mechanisms to prevent a ballot from becoming a blunt instrument against vulnerable people. History bears this out: anti-miscegenation laws likely would have survived popular votes long after Loving v. Virginia; Californias attempt to undo fair-housing protections succeeded at the ballot but was reversed in Reitman v. Mulkey.
Sullivans line is a warning against romanticizing direct democracy. Popular votes can ratify progress once persuasion has done its work, but they are poor tools for recognizing the basic dignity of a group that lacks numbers and faces stigma. Justice often requires insulation from immediate passions while society catches up.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
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