Friday, August 26, 2016

Why does the American form of government work?

Essay No. 10
"By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community."
This quote emphasizes the importance of society's diversity. It demonstrates an example of how embracing a community's differences and disagreements can bring about unity when the government runs off of the popular vote of the people. Thus the nation runs its states off of the common consensus and works towards achieving the interests of the majority of the community.

"If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote. It may clog the administration, it may convulse the society; but it will be unable to execute and mask its violence under the forms of the Constitution. When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government, on the other hand, enables it to sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens. To secure the public good and private rights against the danger of such a faction, and at the same time to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is then the great object to which our inquiries are directed. Let me add that it is the great desideratum by which this form of government can be rescued from the opprobrium under which it has so long labored, and be recommended to the esteem and adoption of mankind."
The presence of a social hierarchy is too strong to demolish, thus the establishment of a popular government brought success to the nations, for it allowed the word of the common man to outweigh that of the more important elites in their society.

Essay No. 51
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."
Madison is establishing that governments run off of the inevitable corruption of human beings – humans naturally make mistakes and are far from being considered "angels". Subsequently, the government can help society through its implementation of laws and rules to maintain order within the states.

"In order to lay a due foundation for that separate and distinct exercise of the different powers of government, which to a certain extent is admitted on all hands to be essential to the preservation of liberty, it is evident that each department should have a will of its own; and consequently should be so constituted that the members of each should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others. Were this principle rigorously adhered to, it would require that all the appointments for the supreme executive, legislative, and judiciary magistracies should be drawn from the same fountain of authority, the people, through channels having no communication whatever with one another."
Being a strong believer in strict order, Madison wished to turn the states into a well functioning nation with the help of a complicated and intricate system. He needed to establish separate branches in certain departments in order to lay a stable foundation for a strong, centralized government. This will lead to helping more people with different views and interests, instead of focusing on just one elite group. The presence of multiple government branches would allow them to represent a larger body.

The American form of government works because it is fixed on helping a large array of people, therefore it is able to provide to the majority of people's interests and needs.

2 comments:

  1. In your first point about Federalist Paper No.51, as you use the quote "If men were angels, no government would be necessary" in your analysis, how do the vulnerability to corruption and imperfection of humans that "angels" lack affect the way the government is run and balanced?

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  2. I really like the idea you mentioned regarding Federalist Paper 10, which was about how the government supported society's diversity, which was really common at this point in American history. One question I have for you, is why you mention Madison so much in regards to Paper 51 but not for the one before. Overall nice analysis

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