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I thought the crux of the question involved the fact that, when there are many possible options within a category, a situation may arise where no single option has more than 50%. ie a population separated along racial lines might have...
40% blue
25% pink
20% purple
15% green
The blue people might have the largest number, but they would not be called the majority, would they? I would say they're the largest minority, but I was hoping someone would have a sexy term to encompass that concept.
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I thought of the idiomatic expression "silent majority". Nothing to do with ethnic groups, but meaning those who live life either in peace or sorrow, but not making any scandal about it.
Also interpretable as a majority that stays silent when minorities are ill used, deported or massacred. Neither of these are my understanding of the expression. Or, maybe, these are particular situations where the term can be used, but the definition is more general. To me it refers to that part of the populace who are not socially vocal / politically active / seen to be "involved" / etc on any particular issue, yet they far outnumber their opposites (the "vocal minority"). I hear it most in political discussions. For example, the vocal minority makes a lot of noise about green living / vegan eating / recycling yet the silent majority continues to throw their burger wrappers out of the windows of their Hummers.
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I thought the crux of the question involved the fact that, when there are many possible options within a category, a situation may arise where no single option has more than 50%. ie a population separated along racial lines might have...
40% blue
25% pink
20% purple
15% green
The blue people might have the largest number, but they would not be called the majority, would they? I would say they're the largest minority, but I was hoping someone would have a sexy term to encompass that concept. I thought "plurality" was used in this context?
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I thought "plurality" was used in this context? Plurality would refer to the fact there are more than two options, but would it define the position that the blue people hold as the most numerous? Apparently it would. 
Last edited by doc_comfort; 02/28/09 10:10 PM.
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I thought the crux of the question involved the fact that, when there are many possible options within a category, a situation may arise where no single option has more than 50%. ie a population separated along racial lines might have...
40% blue
25% pink
20% purple
15% green
The blue people might have the largest number, but they would not be called the majority, would they? I would say they're the largest minority, but I was hoping someone would have a sexy term to encompass that concept. doc, in this example the blue people are are a plurality.
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To me it refers to that part of the populace who are not socially vocal / politically active / seen to be "involved" / etc on any particular issue, yet they far outnumber their opposites (the "vocal minority"). I hear it most in political discussions. For example, the vocal minority makes a lot of noise about green living / vegan eating / recycling yet the silent majority continues to throw their burger wrappers out of the windows of their Hummers. As far as I know the term was first used by Nixon and his minions to serve as an excuse for their policies. By being silent they allowed their voices to be taken over by others.
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To me it refers to that part of the populace who are not socially vocal / politically active / seen to be "involved" / etc on any particular issue, yet they far outnumber their opposites (the "vocal minority"). I hear it most in political discussions. For example, the vocal minority makes a lot of noise about green living / vegan eating / recycling yet the silent majority continues to throw their burger wrappers out of the windows of their Hummers. Doesn't this do injuste to large parts of the silent majority who just behave decently?
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To me it refers to that part of the populace who are not socially vocal / politically active / seen to be "involved" / etc on any particular issue, yet they far outnumber their opposites (the "vocal minority"). I hear it most in political discussions. For example, the vocal minority makes a lot of noise about green living / vegan eating / recycling yet the silent majority continues to throw their burger wrappers out of the windows of their Hummers. Doesn't this do injuste to large parts of the silent majority who just behave decently? Probably, but I was trying to provide an example. I was not trying to imply they do the wrong thing, but rather they do / believe the "norm" even though the ab-norm is more promoted. Or something like that.
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I thought the crux of the question involved the fact that, when there are many possible options within a category, a situation may arise where no single option has more than 50%. ie a population separated along racial lines might have...
40% blue
25% pink
20% purple
15% green
The blue people might have the largest number, but they would not be called the majority, would they? I would say they're the largest minority, but I was hoping someone would have a sexy term to encompass that concept. I thought "plurality" was used in this context? It depends on the context. It is a plurality in the context of voting, as for example in a parliament, or an election. However, in a statistical context, it would be proper to call the largest number (or largest percentage) a majority. In my American English dictionary, "majority" is the third definition for "plurality."
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I thougth of the idiomatic expression "silent majority". Nothing to do with ethnic groups, but meaning those who live life either in peace or sorrow, but not making any scandal about it.
Also interpretable as a majority that stays silent when minorities are ill used, deported or massacred. Or those that are forced to be silent through political pressure and vulnerability.
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