Democracy, the common good, and what is right?

Yesterday I heard someone say "We live in a Democracy. And the advantage of Democracy is that, if one person is against something, and the rest of the 99% are in favour of it, and if they (the 99%) vote in that favour, then the 99% majority get their way, even if that one person was right."

Hmmm, interesting. Democracy takes into consideration the viewpoint of all. The fact that the 99% who voted in favour of something might be wrong is irrelevant.

Assuming that what I have quoted above is true (I am too lazy to actually look up the facts :-P), then first off, shouldn't we be asking the question - how can 99% of the people vote against what is right? We are humans. We can think. We have a conscience you know. How can such a thing be possible?

Well, why not? We are a greedy species. Sure we humans have love, intelligence, imagination, even wisdom. But from what I have seen of the world, the most prominent of human traits is greed. It is what our economic and capitalistic system is based on.

So, if the wrong is going to profit the 99% people, then why won't they vote against what is right?

Now another question arises. How can something that profits the majority of the people be wrong? But this question can only be answered if we first define what do we mean by "wrong". Now that's where it all gets confusing (for me, at least).

Everyday experience teaches us that in most cases, there is no right or wrong. No black or white. Only shades of grey. The line that separates the right from the wrong is, in most cases, thin and hazy. Moreover our thoughts and views are usually adulterated by prejudice and selfishness. One cannot decide about most things being right or wrong based on the known facts. Because there are other facts unknown to us. And we cannot always comprehend the bigger picture.

But aren't there some things which we know are right or wrong? I mean, what about that little feeble voice always nagging at the back of our hearts and minds, telling us that this is right or that is wrong? The voice of our conscience. What about that. Is it not true that sometimes (actually, most of the times) we ignore this little voice of conscience because what that voice is suggesting is not in our best interest? Listening to our conscience can sometimes be "unprofitable", sometimes "counter-productive" and sometimes, just plain inconvenient.

In this modern world, our decisions are ruled by our greed and convenience rather than our morals and our conscience. In such a case, it certainly can be possible that something that profits the majority of the people may be wrong, right?

So is Democracy a failure in this regard? Or are we Humans the true failure? Our intelligence has certainly evolved. But can we claim the same about our morals...?