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Federalist No.10’s Faction and Direct Vs. In Direct Democracy

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In Federalist No.10, James Madison discusses his theories about faction. In doing this, he persuades the new Constitution and how it should be enacted. He believed factions were the number one cause of the failure of the Articles of Confederation. The definition of a faction is a group of people forming a minority group within a larger group, to seek some goal within a political party or government. Madison describes faction differently in Federalist No.10, but in actuality the definitions have the same meaning. Madison’s definition is derived from a listing of requirements. Requirement number one indicates that factions are determined by the number of citizens. Citizens of a government share a common interest which makes them a …show more content…

In doing so, he proposes that the government should regulate the interest of society so faction is not easily formed. Regulation should be the legislature’s principal task in creating a more united society. Without focus on principal tasks, Madison describes how chaotic the faction can become. To prevent this, the government should be an empowered body of people, who come together to make and change laws. No one person should have to the power to judge their own opinions. Giving a person the power of judging themselves can cause many bias, and therefore being inactive. There is no cure for faction. Madison explains that the only way to deal with causes of faction is by controlling its effects. This is where the constitution comes into play, providing security of the public good and the rights of other citizens. To assure constitution, democracy is enacted to form a more civilized community governed by the people. The way democracy is organized is determined by the ideas of being direct or indirect. Direct Democracy is defined by people as a whole who make direct decisions, rather than having decisions made by other representatives. In Madison’s Federalist No.10 he states, “a pure democracy can admit of no cure for the mischief’s of factions

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