Federalist 10 first appeared on this day in 1787.
Authored by James Madison, his first contribution to what became known as the Federalist Papers, this edition focuses its attention on how the proposed Constitution will protect liberty against domestic factions.
Madison defines “faction” as any group “adversed to the rights of other citizens,” and determines that their creation is inevitable as they are “sown in the nature of man.” It is true that we see various degrees of factions throughout all the various political, social, and commercial groupings, especially in regards to property. Madison providently writes, “The most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society.” This is still true today. Riots in major cities had violent perpetrators descend on areas where property owners stood steadfast, armed to protect themselves and their livelihood. Rioters do not exactly stop and ask property owners their position on any riot-worthy issue during the assaults.
Madison states there are “two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction.” The first is to attempt to remove the potential causes for a faction to exist, while the second is to attempt to control its effects. Madison concludes that the first method is impossible in a free society. He offers a famous analogy to illustrate this; “Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency.” Indeed.
Madison then takes on the underlining premise of the confederacy; it’s roots in direct democracy. Historian Garry Wills writes of the significance of this; “Madison’s attack on [direct democracy] is so radical for its time that it is often downplayed, or even altogether missed.” Wills summarizes Madison’s view on the subject, writing, “He did not think direct democracy wonderful. He thought it fundamentally unjust.”1
The proper protection against the whims and passions of a direct democracy so easily influenced by violent faction, Madison argued, is a large republic:
“The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States. A religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part of the Confederacy; but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face of it must secure the national councils against any danger from that source.”
One element Madison missed on was this; “It will more difficult for unworthy candidates to practice with success the vicious arts by which elections are too often carried.” It’s fair to say things didn’t pan out like that. Look at the unworthy candidates we have today courtesy of faction, and by that I mean terrible candidates who win primaries running hard to the extreme end of their party’s left or right. Madison and other Founders failed to appreciate that redistricting has led to uncompetitive districts full of voters lock-step with their party’s sample ballot. Districts which developed into uncompetitive or safe seats prevent General Elections from offering the kind of correction or safeguard that the Founders hoped would be there. Madison acknowledges, “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm,” but it’s doubtful that he envisioned Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress for what has now been 33 years.
There is a fair warning in Federalist 10; “The instability, injustice, and confusion introduced into the public councils, have, in truth, been the mortal diseases under which popular governments have everywhere perished; as they continue to be the favorite and fruitful topics from which the adversaries to liberty derive their most specious declamations.” Which continues today. Be concerned about government-approved information censoring such as ministries of truth as well as mandated disinformation campaigns which are seen today pushing transgender nonsense.
James Madison’s impact on our great nation is truly significant. The Father of the Constitution offered a lot of careful reasoning behind the structure of that historic document in his contributions to the Federalist Papers. His insight then is still essential to understanding our Republic. Factions of various strength will continue with new ones created as fast as new ideas are spout. It is up to citizens concerned with liberty and honesty to spot and defuse the factions most harmful to our advancement toward a more perfect union.
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1James Madison by Garry Wills; Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., general editor, Times Books.
