Ironsides Family/Armstrong/On the Will of the Majority

Treatise: On the Will of the Majority

Foreword

Context: A hypothetical discussion arose in the Assembly over a future alliance with one of Fontan’s recurrent enemies. The Hero of Democracy, Lord Armstrong, spoke up against such a possibility and stated he would not participate in the alliance on grounds of his deep prejudice and good conscience. This sparked a debate over the enforcement of democratic election, and whether or not Lord Armstrong would be committing treason if he resigned from service in this scenario – thereby rejecting the will of the majority whom accepted such a state of union.

Always the thinker, he contemplated the will of the majority and his own principles of Democracy. The Democratic principles he follows state this:

Every noble chooses to serve and obey the order of our democracy, if they decide otherwise, Fontan no longer welcomes them.

This position, however, he has learned, is not so clearly definable. Now he discusses a refined understanding on the will of the majority based on his experience as a practicing Democrat.

On the Will of the Majority

Dearly Democratic, I stated my concept of Democracy the very moment I declared myself the Hero of Democracy. At the time, these things were certain to me. At the time, I was a young man fighting in a civil war against obvious tyranny. Now I have lived and experienced a great deal more in my relationship with Democracy and through my ever-introspective reasoning, I have come to reevaluate my previous statement. I have reassessed my principle.

The will of the majority has always been the authority of Democracy. It is binding over all nobles, from Chancellor to un-landed. Democracy cannot exist in a state of uncertainty on whether or not her nobles will obey the will of the majority. This would be its downfall. However, as with all things, when you put such a firm belief into practice you immediately come across every contradiction and compromise.

As asked in the Fontan Assembly: to what degree does the will of the majority command the nobles of Fontan? The question, then, this treatise seeks to answer is can there be a compromise between the will of the majority and the noble?

What does the will of the majority govern? What is its domain? The most obvious answer is that elections determine regional lords, ducal appointments, and our government. Beyond that, in the Assembly and in the realm at large, matters are put to vote; matters such as war and peace, or law. But the will of the majority does not determine the personal opinion of its nobility. Democracy does not command the religion or political bend of her nobility. Political bend meaning their opinions on issues of the realm. Fontan cannot vote for a noble to decide whether it is correct or incorrect to believe something. That is solely the domain of the individual noble.

Here is the point of tension I have discovered while practicing my Democracy. I have been in this very position and struggled with this very same question.

This treatise is an attempt to reconcile what I have learned. The question is what degree does the will of the majority command the nobles of Fontan, my hard learned answer, only to the degree that the majority is acting Democratically. If the majority demands, orders, or threatens the noble with punishments if they do not obey the vote, then they may be drifting into the tyrannic. This of course relies on the fact that the opponent to the vote is not actively causing sabotage, insurrection, or tyranny themselves.

So what matters can the noble opt out of from the will of the majority? The answer can only be matters that compromise their religious beliefs or their personal principles. Democracy must never tread on a noble’s principles. To do so would corrupt the entire election process to the core thereby creating a realm of frightened bullied mice scurrying anywhere the cat leads them. We must guard against such tyranny!

What does a noble do when they feel pressured to join a cause they do not believe in? I can think of many passive roles a noble can play that will still contribute to the overall progress of the realm, while still maintaining their dignity. I for one will return to my plantation and raise horses to be used as cavalry. Along the way I would most likely write some new songs.

At the end of all of this, my refined principle should now be read as this:

Every noble chooses, by their good conscience, to serve and obey the order of our democracy, if they decide to oppose and cause injury to the realm, Fontan no longer welcomes them.