Like many, I’m disappointed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Outcomes aside, though, this highlights an ongoing tension between the liberal and democratic aspects of liberal democracy. Liberalism is primarily about protecting people’s rights, specifically the liberty to pursue their own projects and flourish according to their own lights. Democracy, on the other hand, is about people’s right to have a say in the shape of the society they’re going to live in.

Obviously, most of us think that democracy is the best way to secure liberty, better than the available alternatives at any rate. But majoritarianism often sits ill at ease with the defense of minority rights, as the events in California show. There’s no simple resolution of this tension–it’s a balance that has to be constantly negotiated. Individual rights aren’t secured by laws or constitutional decisions alone, but also by getting at least the tacit buy-in of the majority, something that requires fostering a political culture of tolerance and mutual recognition.