Individual desires are more important than that of the public's opinion on what is "good" because what is good for the majority many not be good for certain individuals in society. For instance, A majority of the population in America is white. During the advent of civil rights, many whites opposed the allowance of blacks in America to have the same rights as white people. If the matter was decided on popular vote alone, blacks may have been oppressed longer. But the minority protections the country has as a republic were cause for the movement for civil rights not to have to convince the whole country, just enough politicians to move legislature.