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The tyranny of the majority minority
As someone who both uses data daily and is an absolute data sceptic the notion that statistics can prove or disprove a particular issue is inherently problematic. Lies, damn lies, and statistics is a common refrain, yet in reality we all rely on data and stats to parse a semblance of the world. For me, the major problem starts when assumptions are made about the human condition which rely on the notion that data can ever form a rounded understanding of what humans actually are. Stats like 51% of the world is female belie the intersectional reality of all women; indeed, once you start adding more layers into statistical modelling reality becomes an overlapping series of minorities which we all inhabit. Who has the power to decide what the majority is usually comes down to which minority is able to present itself as the “majority” and cement its version of society onto the rest of the community.
This tyranny of the majority minority seems counter intuitive at first, but when you start to dig into any data set and add up the majority identities it becomes clear that any majority is in reality a series of minorities. If 85% of a nation’s population is white, 75% Christian, 50% male, and 35% 35–65, that group makes up 11.12% of that nation, a seeming majority is in fact a relative minority. When numbers are bandied around to the point they become fact they lose their underlying…
