i believe that capital punishment is barbaric and should never occur in a civilized state. If in a referendum on the topic i vote against instating capital punishment, and yet the majority decision is that it should be instated, i am faced with a paradox. As someone committed to democratic principles i believe that the majority decision should be enacted. As an individual with strongly held beliefs about the wrongness of capital punishment i believe that capital punishment should never be permitted. So it seems that in this case i both believe that capital punishment should occur (as the result of the majority decision) and that it shouldn't occur (because of my personal beliefs). But these two beliefs are incompatible. Anyone committed to democratic principles is likely to be faced with a similar paradox when they find themselves a minority.