MINORITY RIGHT vs. MAJORITY MIGHT
Totalitarianism is a very real enemy of liberty. But totalitarianism is not
limited to monarchical form of government; it can also occur in a
democracy, supported by popular sovereignty. Majority rule per se does not
create freedom. The only free society is the one that "prizes the sanctity
and worth of individuals" by providing protection for minority
rights. The "totalitarian state is absolute and unlimited. In a free
society, state absolutism is controlled by guarantees of civil
liberties." Religious liberty, centered in the right of conscience, is
the central liberty in a free society, and the most vital restraint on
a totalitarian government.
JCS 5 (May 1963):5-14
SOURCE: Annotations of Journal of Church and State, Editorials and
Articles. The Separation of Church & State Defended. Selected Writings of
James E. Wood, Jr, Edited with an introduction by Derel H. Davis, J. M.
Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies. Baylor University, Waco, Texas,
(1995) p. 276-77
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