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The Power to Say No
How legislation is accepted or killed
Politics is the art of compromise. In any political situation, a multitude of interests are competing against each other. In ancient Athenian democracy, the people would actively debate on any topic and arrive to a decision by a majority. This worked to some extent, but to the extent that it did, it could only be possible in such a small entity as Athens.
For in a large political unit, majority rule may squish the legitimate interests of select minorities. This what philosopher John Stuart Mill regarded as the tyranny of the majority, in which an unrestricted majority rule could lead to dire consequences for its minorities. A famous example was Socrates death sentence, where he was convicted to death by the majority because of his contrarian attitudes.
Therefore, the majority of any political unit must be restricted. The Romans were some of the first who succeeded in instating checks and balances on the power of the majority.
In Rome, the power of the Roman Senate was limited by the Tribunus Pleblis- a tribune that represented the interests of the plebs, the people. The greatest power of the plebeian tribune was the ability to declare veto- which means to say I forbid! The power of the tribune was in other words to say no. And this power shouldn’t be underestimated.
