My Opinion on Why the US Government Works

“From this view of the subject it may be concluded that a pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens who assemble and administer the government in person, can admit of no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert result from the form of government itself; and there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious individual...”

–James Madison (Publius), The Federalist Essays No. 10

         While Mr. Madison may argue that the natural factions society forms are one of a democracy’s greatest weaknesses, which he expresses in his statement that democracy has “no cure” for the “mischiefs” of factions, I disagree. In the opinion of Mr. Madison, factions create distance between people in society, and only under a common passion or will can people unite. I find it to be the opposite – our diversity makes us strong.

           By Mr. Madison’s tone in the article, one can infer that his idea of a faction is more an idea of a class, such as upper, middle, or lower class. In his time, these classes were more defined, whereas nowadays, they barely exist at all, except maybe to define the difference between a millionaire and someone barely able to make a living. What Mr. Madison does not see is that a faction does not only refer to one’s social standing, but to those one associates with.

           Presently, each of us has a multitude of factions we belong to, even if we don’t necessarily realize it. We experience factions as a daily part of life. Our family is a faction, our friends another. Our parent’s friends, our teachers, our teammates, our classmates, our neighbors, and our community. All of these are separate factions that each of us associates with constantly. We do not belong to a single faction; instead, we are a part of many different ones that overlap at any given time. These overlaps are what connect us to each other, even if we do not realize it.

If one thinks of it that way, it is hard to think of someone, even a stranger, as being so immensely different from oneself. Our factions make us stronger, as one person can move from one to the other to unite under a common goal or cause.

          Even if factions exist under a government, that does not mean that the government or the nation itself is weak, only that it is slightly more difficult to unite a majority under a common cause because of the diversity among the people. However, this diversity lends us perspective, and allows us to approach problems in different ways, which could lead to finding an alternate solution that would otherwise have gone unnoticed or ignored.

           Being one of the most diverse nations in the world has it’s advantages – we Americans are exposed to different cultures each and every day, and because of it, we are able to allow our minds to remain open to new and different possibilities, and to not be as hostile to outsiders as other, more sheltered people may be. We are more accepting of others, which allows us to better empathize and resolve conflicts in a more understanding way.

            While I recognize that Mr. Madison lived in a different time, when the factions that permeated his society were much more detached from each other, I believe he was incorrect in his assumptions about factions under a democracy. Our differences help to unite us, as backwards as it may sound, and that is part of the reason why I think our government works, despite the initial conclusion that it wouldn’t.

"Either the existence of the same passion or interest in a majority at the same time must be prevented, or the majority, having such coexistent passion or interest, must be rendered, by their number and local situation, unable to concert and carry into effect schemes of oppression." 
                                              -James Madison, Federalist Essays No. 10

           In this quote, Mr. Madison is explaining the problem with majorities and minorities in governments. The point of democracy, he decides, is to represent all citizens and prevent the majority group from keeping the minority group's opinions from being sacrificed. Mr. Madison believes that in order to prevent the minority group from being crushed, the majority group must not be allowed to unite under a same passion or interest, or if they are, must be unable to use this unity to oppress those who do not agree.
           While I agree on the terms of not allowing oppression to occur, I beg to differ on the point of not allowing a majority group to become unified. Unity is what makes a country strong, though the strongest form of unity comes from the uniting of the divergent. If people of all different beliefs, backgrounds, and opinions can unite together for a common cause, it means much more than if all of one group unite to benefit themselves at the expense of another.
           Uniting under a common cause is what created America in the first place. That said, who are we to prevent those who wish to unify from doing so? Though it may lead to trouble, this country was built on the belief that each individual has the right to share his opinion, and to be heard by others. If we prevent people from unifying in order to express a common opinion out of fear for what might occur, we undermine the whole point of America, along with the reason why America's government works. Taking away people's right to unity is taking away their right to freedom of speech, so in order to preserve the American government and keep it functioning as it does, we must prevent unity from inspiring oppression, but allow unity to occur nonetheless, or risk the collapse of the American government as we know it.

“It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? 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. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”

                                                 -James Madison, Federalist Essays No. 51

                                                

         In this article, Mr. Madison comments on a downfall of any form of government. Indeed, the most difficult part of forming a government and keeping it in “control [of] itself”. There are many examples in history of governments went wrong due to a government official becoming corrupt and in turn corrupting the government itself, the most prominent examples being the many kings of France.

Indeed, the most dramatic example being the beheading of Marie Antoinette and her husband, Louis XVI. The reason why the government of the United States is so successful is because of the principle introduced by Montesquieu – separation of power. This concept helped us to create today’s three branches of government and the checks and balances that accompany them.

         The checks and balances between the branches of our government keeps each branch in control and makes sure that no single branch retains too much power. These “precautions”, as Mr. Madison calls them, help to keep our government fair and balanced, which in turn keeps our nation stable and functional.

         As Mr. Madison points out, if only man was not so susceptible to his selfishness and craving for power, there would be no need for government. But, alas, if we are to have a government, I find it lucky that we should have one that rules based on popular consent of the people while still making decisions deemed best for us, even if we do not always understand them. 

"In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself."
                                                    -James Madison, Federalist Essays No. 51

              Mr. Madison describes the difference between a republic and a democracy in this paragraph. While a republic is only one government, a democracy is divided into three separate branches of one united government. In this way, America's government provides an imbedded security system, as each branch will prevent the others from gaining too much power in order to ensure their own importance. In a republic, there is a sole branch of government, and so there is nothing to check the government's power or if it becomes corrupt or not. This division of power is what allows the American government to continue to function properly and keep our country running, whereas if we were to have a single branch of government, such as a republic or an absolute monarchy, it could easily become corrupt and prevent our country from functioning. It is for this reason that America's government works and will continue to work for (hopefully) a very long time.