Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Majority rule as a strength: Democracy allows decisions to reflect the will of the majority, ensuring popular representation and legitimacy.

As an internal threat: Majority rule becomes dangerous when the majority community (based on religion, race, or language) permanently dominates minorities. As seen in Sri Lanka, when Sinhala was imposed on Tamil-speaking citizens, democratic rule became exclusionary.

Two conditions democracy must fulfil:

1. Majority must work with the minority, not against it, since majority and minority opinions are not permanent.
2. Rule by majority must never mean permanent rule by one religious, racial, or linguistic community — every citizen must have a chance to be part of the majority at some point.

Democracy prevents this outcome by developing procedures to negotiate differences and accommodate social diversity peacefully.

Source: Accommodation of social diversity, Chapter 5

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Examiners expect two clear points: (1) how majority rule becomes a threat (permanent community domination, Sri Lanka example) and (2) the two specific conditions from the textbook. Always distinguish between majority opinion (which changes) and majority community (identity-based, which is the real danger). The Sri Lanka example is a strong, expected illustration here.