Lecture Review Flashcards

When answering questions about surprise, consider:
- How will they be surprised?
- Why would they be surprised?
- What leads them to be surprised?
- What's the argument?

Pushing goals may involve suppressing others'.
Example: Assigning all homework to one person through a vote.
Majority imposing will on the minority.
Application to broader issues like religion: Fear of majority (e.g., Christians in America) suppressing minorities (Muslims, Jews, atheists).

Levitsky and Ziblatt: The bigger problem in the American system is the tyranny of the minority, not the majority.

It can empower small states, swing states, and in some cases, minorities when a losing candidate who loses the total number of popular votes can still be elected.

Votes in smaller states (e.g., Wyoming, Vermont, South Dakota) are disproportionately powerful compared to larger states (e.g., California, Texas).
Historical context: Conflict during the founding of the U.S. between small and large states regarding representation.
51% of the U.S. population lives in the nine most populated states, but they only have 18 senators.
Minority can block legislation and confirm appointments (e.g., Supreme Court justices).

Senators representing a minority of the population can confirm Supreme Court justices.
Justices are appointed for life, insulated from public opinion.
Can strike down laws, even those passed with strong majority support.
Examples: striking down minimum wage laws, voting rights measures, etc.

During the 1930s, the courts struck down legislation such as laws that banned child labor.
Laws that banned minimum wage.

Levitsky and Ziblatt argue that countermajoritarian institutions do not protect minority rights.

Filibuster: Requires 60 votes to pass legislation in the Senate.
Justification: Protection against tyranny of the majority.
Levitsky and Ziblatt: Historically, the filibuster has often been used to block minority rights.
- 1922, 1937, 1940: Efforts to establish federal laws against lynching blocked by filibuster.
- 1942, 1944, 1946: Efforts to repeal poll taxes blocked by filibuster.
- Lodge Bill (aggressive voting rights reform) blocked by filibuster.

Lubitsky and Ziegler argue that the filibuster has actually not protected what we traditionally think of minority rights.
Voting rights, civil rights, integration, so on, have been limited by a filibuster, countermajoritarian institution.

Other countries have had filibusters or the equivalent of filibusters.
Others have had counter majoritarian institutions.
Others have had unlimited debate.
When there were debates of whether to abolish such institutions in these other countries, such as Sweden, Norway, The UK, people made similar predictions that chaos could spread.

A written constitution is another key counter majority hearing institute.
We are bound by the constitution, by the freedom of speech, by the Second Amendment.
We are bound by all those even though a lot of founders are currently dead.
Constitutions should bound people, but they shouldn't bound people forever
Supermajority institutions prevent bad government action.

Hamilton and Madison opposed The US.
Hamilton and Madison did come up with an opinion on the equivalent of or supermajority
The constitution was shaped by existing power structures rather than by great ideas.
Hamilton and Madison, for instance, both of them opposed The US.