James Madison's Political Thought

James Madison's Political Thought

Introduction

Originally published in various New York newspapers from 1787-88, The Federalist Papers were soon being reprinted in newspapers throughout the states and together in book form. They greatly influenced the pro-ratification debate by arguing forcefully and persuasively for the wisdom and efficiency of the new constitutional government. They addressed the common Anti-federalist, states rights criticisms of the Constitution by showing that the Constitution established a federal republic (not a unitary centralized tyranny), giving increased power to the national military and economy but leaving the states considerable control over domestic policy.

They explained in detail the philosophy and rationale for the new American republic as well as the specific provisions for the national government's structure and limits. The Federalist Papers reflected both a social contract view of the state (from John Locke) and a Protestant Christian perspective (from John Calvin) on human nature, politics, and society. In the most famous philosophical Paper (#10), James Madison shows how the Constitution's system of divided powers and checks and balances comes from a Calvinist appreciation of human sin, envy, and greed, necessitating a limit on the terms and power of people in the government.

The federalist papers also argued that the importance of the union and the articles of confederation were good powers to withstand and preserve the union. In which this is a very none valid argument because it if we want to preserve the union it would of failed the constitution and it would have been a huge impact to the country. They also argued that they need to support the basic thesis that an energetic federal government was necessary. In which Hamilton tried to convince the people that the new federal government would be less abusive than the one in Britain.

Madison's Argument

Essay written by James Madison, first published in the New York Packet on November 23, 1787, and probably the most famous of the Federalist Papers. In it Madison refuted the popular view that republican government was suitable only for small states, arguing that only a large republic with a diverse population and a representative system can safeguard liberty, justice, and stability. Madison believed that republicanism protected against the dangers of "factions," which he defined as citizens "united...by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community."

James Madison's pluralism in the United States assumes a multiplicity of social, economic, and religious interests. The U.S. Constitution, with its system of checks and balances, is constructed specifically to manage and balance such conflicting interests. Contemporary thinkers on interests include Ronald Dworkin, John Rawls, and Robert Nozick, who express philosophically the current liberal, conservative, and libertarian notions, respectively, of individual and social (or common) interests. The post-Modernism of Foucault, much like ancient and medieval thought, challenges the Modern preoccupation of human interests as a historical customary formulation distorting the full human potential. Many other critics regard the contemporary overemphasis on interests as reducing ...