Federalist No. 10 – James Madison
- The best argument for the Constitution is that it controls damage and chaos of factions – people have banded together to promote and protect special economic and political interests.
- These often work against the public’s interest.
- The Articles of Confederation and strong, independent minded state governments have been unable to stop these factions.
- Factions are natural because men have varying and conflicting interests and seek out like-minded people and begin taking action to help themselves.
- Men with more talent tend to have more land than the less talented à property rights must be defended against the jealous.
- The government’s job is to regulate conflicts between landowners and those who don’t have land and stop or control factions, remove causes thereof and control their effects.
- This is unlikely to remove cause because you must destroy liberty or make everyone the same.
- It’s hard to control factions because the largest ones dominate the weaker ones. They can’t protect property and civil rights.
- In theory, the men chosen for office will be wise and able.
- Faction members may win elections but are unlikely in large countries à makes it harder to deceive the people.
- If more sects are available for people to join, more and more voices are around to drown out the effect of factions and guard against mob rule.
- The larger a country, the weaker the effect of a single mob and making it more difficult to impose bad ideas or laws on people.
- The 13 states must have a secure union because most of them border land of a foreign nation. Border states are the most vulnerable but have the most to gain from a union.