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I’m a bit confused — from this dialogue It doesn’t appear to me that “democracy” in India is much in crisis, but rather religious pluralism and secularism. If a democratic society decided that particular minority groups should be oppressed then that would be the “will of the people.” I am not suggesting that would be good, but it seems to me some people believe that a democracy that does not make decisions in a way they like is somehow a failing democracy. That is a misunderstanding of democracy though — since a democracy will only be as virtuous as the sum of citizens who participate in it.

There is no guarantee that a democracy will not vote itself into injustice and misery. There is in fact quite a bit of historical precedent for it. It’s actually why people like John Adams were very critical of democracy and why the US is not strictly a democracy, but a constitutional republic. Democracy idolaters seem to forget or ignore the nuance of that, but it’s quite important.

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Very intriguing discussion. Many thanks, Yascha.

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Her claim that Tamil Hindus were oppressed by the Buddhists in Sri Lanka ignores a history where the Tamil Hindus had joined with the British to oppress the Buddhists. After liberation there was some revenge violence (as in India) but it was the Tamil Hindus who started the civil war.

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