“Tradition is the democracy of the dead: it refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.”G. K. Chesterton · Ortodoxia · 1908 · Ortodoxia, Cap. IV
Tradition is democracy extended to include the vote of ancestors, not just the present generation.
Chesterton rejects the idea that only contemporaries have the right to decide what is valuable. Tradition is a vote from ancestors, who tested and preserved what works over centuries. To ignore it is to submit to an 'oligarchy' of the living, who are often modest or ignorant. Example: a community preserving a centuries-old custom, even if the current generation doesn't fully understand its purpose.
Why it matters Use this to evaluate innovations with respect for accumulated wisdom, not from disdain for the past.