rights of the minority
1
4.8
- noun
:
derechos de la minoría
- So yes, one thing that any society can and should do is work to be aware that the tyranny of the majority is always a possibility and mitigate that social dynamic by protecting the rights of the minority.
- protect the rights of the minority
Examples
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A system was put in place to limit the powers of the government (and by extension the powers of the majority) and protect the rights of the minority/individual.
Blog text (2) -
In situations of ethnic rivalry and hostility, the majority group can offer guarantees to respect and honor the rights of the minority.
Academic text (2003) -
We must find a way to protect the rights of the minorities.
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We should fight for the rights of the minorities staying on in this country.
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The majority cannot dictate the civil rights of the minority in the eyes of the law.
Blog text (10) -
What about the rights of the minority in the class who profess a different religion?
Academic text (2002) -
Unfortunately, our courts have allowed the majority to trample all over the property rights of the minority.
Blog text (2) -
"The great danger in the republics is that the majority will not respect the rights of the minority" -- James Madison.
Blog text (31) -
The object of a Constitution is not only to confer power upon the majority, but to restrict the power of the majority and to protect the rights of the minority.
Academic text (2017) -
It is crucial to ensure the rights of the minority are upheld in every community.
How Protected
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'rights' (entitlements) + 'of the minority' (belonging to a smaller or less powerful group) yields the meaning 'entitlements possessed by the smaller group.' The noun + of + noun construction is a regular genitive/possessive pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer this meaning.
Etymology
Rights of the minority comes from early democratic debates when people worried that the big group might use votes to harm a smaller group. Saying rights for the minority makes a picture of laws as a shield around the small group, so the phrase now means 'legal or moral protection' for smaller or less powerful groups.