James Madison's Federalist 10

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In Federalist 10, James Madison is discussing the issue of factions in the US government. At first, Madison defines to us that factions are groups of people who share the same economic and political opinions. He believes that America is in turmoil from the effects of factions, but at the same time he believes that factions are inevitable as long as man have different opinions. Madison mentions that factions are constantly at war with each other, and normally are not looking out for the greater good of the people. From his perspective on the issue, he is able to think of two solutions. Madison’s first solution to solving corrupt factions is to remove its cause. What Madison means by “removing its cause” is to remove liberty. This however,
Two ways to do this is by having a direct Democracy or by a republic. Some of the major problems with a direct democracy, however, are that men from specific factions may win elections and come into power by deceiving the public. Benefits of having a republic would be the limitation of faction powers and that the government will have more control of the “mob” or people. Some minor problems with republics are that factions may be limited which also contradicts its benefit, and that leaders may be corrupt. Controlling the effects of factions is possible to Madison. Idealistically, Madison believes that the best solution to factions taking over the government is to have a republic. In a republic, factions will be numerous, but they will not be as powerful as they would be in a direct democracy.
Madison is wrong because in modern times, his idea has not worked. Our republic has not done a very well job in controlling factions. In fact, factions control our government. The majority of all aspects of our government are controlled by the two largest factions who are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. America has created a two-part system which prevents any small third parties from gaining influence. The two-party system is proof that Madison’s hypothesis was not
They spend millions and millions of dollars on funding during each presidential election. Statistically, the candidates usually on the top of the polls normally have had the most money spent on them by super PACs compared to candidates on the bottom of the polls. In the last election, Restore Our Future, which is a super PAC that supported Romney, raised over $150 million for him, and Priorities USA Action, which supports Obama, raised over $79 million for him(opensecrets.org). Both of those men one the candidacy for their respective parties. Super PACs have a strong influence on the government, since they are typically major factor in who becomes the president in recent

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