Defeated minorities accept majority rule through continued discursive hope, not conviction change

Evidence

This element of deliberation as preparation for making decisions is an essential part of the explanation of how the democratic procedure also legitimizes majority decisions in the eyes of the defeated minority. From the participant perspective, the persuasiveness of the procedure is explained by an unlikely combination of two features: on the one hand, this requires the participation of all persons who may be affected by the outcome; on the other hand, it makes the decision itself dependent on the more or less discursive character of the preceding deliberation. The condition of inclusiveness corresponds to the democratic requirement that all those potentially affected should participate, while the filter of the deliberative exchange of proposals, information and reasons justifies the assumption that the result is rationally acceptable. This assumption can be tested in turn against the deliberative quality of the preceding deliberations. Such discourses are expected to mobilize competition between relevant public opinions based on germane topics, requisite information and pertinent pro and contra stances. In short, the coupling of inclusive participation with discursive deliberation explains the expectation that the results are rationally acceptable. Because every decision means that a discourse is being broken off, however, the defeated minorities can also accept majority decisions without having to abandon their own convictions in the hope that their arguments will be successful in the long run. — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 95

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precise statement of what makes a procedure deliberative: inclusiveness plus discursive filter producing rational acceptability.
• XREF: connects to: Minorities accept majority rule only under a shared constitutional consensus. — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 20; Defeated minorities can accept majority rule when discourse can resume — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 62; Protest improves conditions by forcing majority recognition of minority grievances (+5 more)

Related

• Defeated minorities can accept majority rule when discourse can resume (similarity 0.90)
• Minorities accept majority rule only under a shared constitutional consensus. (similarity 0.86)
• Majority rule can dominate minorities and so fails as a guard against arbitrariness (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Protest improves conditions by forcing majority recognition of minority grievances #corroborates (0.80)
• Religious minority assimilation can itself be achieved through constitutional rhetoric #expands (0.80) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 279
• Legislation re-educates masses after a minority gains enough attitudinal change #expands (0.75)
• Minority-sourced persuasion produces lasting change and spillover to unaddressed beliefs, unlike majority pressure. #corroborates (0.72) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1418
• Minority acceptance is purchased through prolonged suffering #corroborates (0.70)